Do you have, or are you planning to start, a Roth IRA? If so, you’ve already made a great start planning for your retirement.

But in these uncertain times, many are looking for a way to diversify their retirement holdings and protect them against economic instability. For most situations, one attractive option is to use your Roth IRA to invest in gold, silver, or other precious metals.

First Off – What Exactly is a Roth IRA?

Named for Senator William Roth, a Roth IRA is much like a traditional IRA (Individual Retirement Account). A Roth IRA, however, provides several specific tax benefits. Unlike a traditional IRA, there are no mandatory withdrawals after you reach retirement age, and you can continue to make contributions after 70.

This means you can continue to save AFTER retirement. It also means you can pass the assets in your Roth IRA on to your heirs without those assets having been taxed.

There are limits on the income you can earn if you want to make a Roth IRA contribution. If you want to make the maximum contribution, you must have made less than $118,000 for 2017 or less than $120,000 for 2018.

Can I Invest in Gold Through My Roth IRA?

Yes. The easiest way to invest in gold through a Roth IRA is to purchase stocks in companies involved in the exploration or mining of gold ore. This is sometimes called investing in “paper gold” because you are not buying actual, physical metals, but rather involving yourself indirectly through stocks or mutual funds.

However, this kind of investment gives up many of the benefits investors are looking for from precious metals like gold and silver…

Mining companies are subject to increased taxes or regulatory scrutiny. Production and labor costs, or rising land values, can also affect mining or exploration companies. And like any company, it’s possible for them to fail and declare bankruptcy.

Investors turn to gold because they are looking for a secure investment that hedges them against inflation or economic insecurity. If those are your concerns, physical gold is a vastly better bet than “paper gold.”

Can I Invest in Physical Gold Through My Roth IRA?

Yes and no.

The rules for your Roth IRA prevent you from directly investing in physical gold…

But you can still diversify your retirement account into gold indirectly.

The way to do this is to set up a self-directed IRA with a trusted gold IRA custodian such as Advantage Gold. You can then transfer funds from your Roth IRA the same way you would perform a rollover from your 401k.

Can I Invest in Other Precious Metals Through My Roth IRA?

Yes. Through the same rollover process you can also invest in other metals like silver, platinum, or palladium.

Creating Your Very Own Gold Roth IRA

As stated above, you can’t directly invest in gold or other precious metals with your existing Roth IRA. However, you can still leverage the tax benefits of your existing Roth IRA by rolling it into a gold IRA with a trusted custodian.