Most employers in the country offer a 401k retirement plan to their employees as part of their benefit plan. It enables staff to begin a program towards retirement, with the employer matching the individual’s contribution, ultimately equating to significant savings.

The problem with a 401k is the limitation to paper assets, and people change employment frequently. In deciding what to do with these plans once leaving a workplace, many consider the idea of an individual retirement account, but one that offers more freedom than the traditional Roth.

It seems people desire to turn a portion of their nest egg into gold to set aside for retirement. But some individuals question whether including a gold IRA as part of their portfolio is a wise move. Only certain IRAs are approved for gold to be included as investments. These are always self-directed individual retirement accounts investing in physical gold or other types of precious metals. Find out what a gold IRA rollover is at https://learnaboutgold.com/blog/what-is-a-gold-ira-rollover/.

The fees for a gold backed IRA account are higher than a traditional or Roth option, which typically is set aside for paper assets like bonds, stocks, or mutual funds. The gold option serves as a good hedge for fluctuating economies, but the focus is to categorize it as a single physical asset.

The option is appealing to those who want to create diversification in their retirement portfolio. While paper assets go in one direction generally during a turbulent time, gold will naturally follow a different path, keeping the investor stable.

It’s kind of a “weights and measures” approach to balancing out the risk, particularly as a long-term commitment, making it a wise strategy for a retirement plan.

Reasons To Roll Over A 401k To A Gold IRA

Many people ponder, why should I rollover my 401k into a gold IRA when leaving a job? Many people choose to roll it over into a self-directed IRA, actually allowing greater access to far more investments aside from merely gold. If you choose a self-directed option, it provides for all physical assets, including gold. That gives you more control over your account.

These types of investment options allow you the potential to streamline your portfolio, plus some brokerage firms will often offer incentives when you choose this path.

It doesn’t mean it’s always the optimum decision for every investor. It might be better to maintain a 401k path as a better opportunity for your needs in some cases. Seeking the advice of a financial consultant is always the best course to take. As a rule, it’s almost always in the best interest to roll over the 401k money to an IRA.

–          Higher Cost Investments

Plan administrators carefully vet options for low-costs. Still, funds cripple some with subpar performance straddled by high costs. Plus, some might offer a low price but expect former employees to pay higher fees for administrative costs if they maintain their plan.

Smaller to mid-size businesses often comprise loads of insurance offerings that hold exorbitant costs, but companies legally need to disclose their fees removed from your account for any expenses. Make sure to pay close attention to your quarterly reports.

–          There Is An Array Of 401k Accounts

Many people change jobs on a frequent basis. The suggestion is that “baby boomers” will change jobs over ten times throughout the extent of their careers (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Leaving a plan behind each time could result in unsuitable, mismatched choices not relevant to your stage in life. It makes sense to bring these together in an IRA.

–          Flexibility As Far As Withdrawing From The Account

A lot of 401k plans are set up with an “all-or-nothing” withdrawal system, meaning you either leave your money in the program or withdraw all of it. There are typically penalties when withdrawing also.

Rolling over into a self-directed individual retirement account gives you much more freedom not only as far as what you can invest in but your withdrawal activity and taxes.

With gold, you have tax deferral, but you also have to realize there is no interest or dividends; it’s merely an investment. You won’t make a fortune on your investment, but you have the advantage of stability and value that not many other assets can guarantee.

Final Thought

A 401k plan is genuinely a great way to start with retirement savings. Depending on the match with an employer and your max contribution, they can actually equate to plenty of funds over time. It’s unnecessary to rollover your 401k into an IRA if you feel confident in the performance and believe it will carry your retirement. Many are not quite that strong. There is a need to have more, including IRAs.

The best IRA option is the self-directed variety simply because you have more control over what you can invest in, including physical assets, where traditional IRAs don’t allow physical assets. View here for details on rolling 401k over to a gold IRA.

Rolling a 401k into a self-directed one will allow you to develop that “gold” nest egg that many people are looking for today, since gold holds its value even in a crisis. The optimum retirement strategy is one where your portfolio shows diversification. When times are tough and paper assets are sluggish, physical assets, especially gold, keep things stable. There’s always a balance.