To set up a gold IRA, you must first determine whether your account qualifies for a rollover. While many investors have transferred their inactive 401k and 403b accounts, as well as Traditional, Roth, and Sepp IRAs, into gold-backed IRAs, investors should realize that active, employer-based retirement plans are not eligible. Transforming an eligible retirement account into physical gold is quick, simple, and affordable, and following are the steps that one must take to set up a gold IRA.

For starters, your current custodian will transfer the portion of your assets that you wish to transform into gold to either Equity Institutional or Self-Directed IRA Services (SDIRA) , because these are the two custodians that are approved for IRA precious metal storage. Both entities charge around $175 per year to maintain your account and store your gold. Feel free to research the fee schedules, mission statements, and history of these two reputable trust companies at www.EquityInstitutional.com and www.sdiraservices.com , respectively.

IRA specialists at the Certified Gold Exchange are authorized to help you fill out and submit the required paperwork, and there is never any obligation to do business with CGE once your account is funded. When you sit down to complete the rollover paperwork and set up your gold IRA, you should have a recent account statement handy, as well as information such as who you wish to list as your beneficiaries and what sort of assets you are transferring in-kind, if any.

After your funds are made available at either Equity Institutional or SDIRA , your gold dealer of choice will freeze the price of physical gold and ship it to Wilmington Trust Depository on your behalf. You will be asked to sign the invoice for your gold, which you will then fax to your gold broker. Wilmington Trust will segregate the gold in your account securely and independently of everyone else’s for as long as your account is active. After you set up your gold IRA, you will receive monthly account statements so that you are always up to speed on current market conditions and trends. Liquidating your gold IRA is just as easy as contacting your gold broker to authorize a sell, then signing and returning another fax. For more information on setting up a gold IRA, contact one of our retirement specialists today.