Silver Ira Overview

If you switch on the TV, there are many ads that promote having financial security as you reach your retirement age. These ads constantly tell you the benefits of investing your money in a gold and silver IRA. Not only that, they engage the viewer in how other retirees have doubled or tripled their retirement funds because they invested their money in precious metals. They sound and look convincing. But is it really worth it? Do you actually benefit from gold or silver investments?

These are some of the questions that we will try probing into. This article will help you understand what it means to have a silver backed IRA and how it can benefit you.

What is a silver IRA?

If you are wondering, what is a silver IRA, then you’ve come to the right place. For starters and lets assume that you’re a novice.. an IRA means Individual Retirement Account. In many countries, especially in the United States, a person before retiring comes with a retirement plan in order to save themselves from taxes and other deductions. This proves beneficial when they set up an Individual Retirement Account, invest in that saving account, and only withdraw that money upon retirement.

When you withdraw money only upon retirement, your money does not become taxable until your retirement. So that means there is no imposition of taxes on the money you earn from the interest received in your saving account.

In that same way, instead of adding more money to IRA, you add silver. There are four types of precious metals where you can make an individual retirement account. They are gold, silver, platinum, and palladium.

Gold is the popular choice for making an individual retirement account. However, you can also make a combination of the mentioned precious metals to make your individual retirement account.

Nowadays, this type of IRA has also become a popular precious metal that many people invest in. A keynote to remember is that all these precious metals need to be in the form of only coin or bar products. And it should be approved by the IRS (International Revenue Service).

Another thing to remember is that you cannot store your precious metals at home. So if you have a silver IRA, you can keep them with a bank, trust company, or credit bank. Beyond that, you cannot store your precious metals at other banks if they don’t have a valid license with the IRS.

Often, investors advise using precious metals such as gold or silver to hedge themselves against inflation.

So if you’re thinking about what is IRA eligible silver, then the answer is simple. Only those silver coins or bars approved by the IRS for storing in licensed banks are called IRA eligible silver.

What is Silver IRA rollover?

Silver IRA rollover may sound confusing with silver IRA. However, a silver IRA rollover simply means you enjoy more incredible benefits over your choice of investments. If you have a plan made out for your savings already, you can perform a silver IRA rollover from your old funds.

With that said, if you have a 401(K) plan for your retirement, you can roll over your funds into your new silver IRA. Before you plan to roll over your funds, secure the custody of an IRA trustee so that the process will not take a long time.

How do I buy physical silver for my IRA?

To buy your physical silver IRA, here are some conditions that you have to fulfill.

• First, you have to open your own IRA account to buy physical silver or other precious metals. If you already have a 401(K) plan, you can make plans to roll over your funds into your new investment account.
• After making your IRA account, choose a custodian or trustee approved by the IRA. The custodian will help you direct your funds in selecting investments for you. Please note that the responsibilities of a custodian depend on the type of bank you are investing funds into. So check with the bank what duties the custodian will have as you work through this process with your bank.
• As mentioned, you cannot purchase or store your silver. Under the guidelines provided by the IRS, you can only buy IRS-approved silver coins and bars. With a little research, one can discover the various companies that deal with IRS-approved silver products. You can store them in banks with valid IRS certificates.
• You can start funding your IRA by making a contribution of at least $6000 per year (information at the time of the development of this article).
• Under IRS guidelines, you cannot purchase the silver by yourself. This is where your account trustee comes in to help and assist. You can deposit the amount into your IRA, following which the custodian or trustee will make the transaction for buying your silver.

Advantages

• The first advantage of having this type of IRA is being able to protect yourself against any type of incoming inflation. Sometimes paper dollar (US dollar) loses its value over time, but precious metals like silver never really experience drastic loss in their rate or value.
• In bad times like the crash of the stock market, the paper dollar loses its assets. But, there are fewer chances of silver losing its value in the market, giving you an added advantage of having a silver IRA.

Disadvantages

• You may purchase or own silver products, but you don’t actually own them privately. You can only gain access to your silver after retirement. Moreover, the custodian does all the purchase and storing of silver in the bank, so you don’t actually see whether the silver is being kept or not. 
• According to silver IRA reviews, investing in silver does not guarantee you any specific level or kind of interest. In standard IRAs, you earn interest from the funds you contribute, but in this kind of IRA, you can only earn when the prices of silver go up in the market. So you have to depend on the market for the prices to go up instead of relying on your silver products or assets.

There are still better chances of earning from a silver IRA than a standard IRA for many people. There may be risks associated with this activity, but no less than any other types of investments. Those who invest always assume a certain degree of risk understanding that there are levels of gains that can be realized too.

If you intend to open one of these for yourself, please carefully read the offer documents before proceeding. Look out for hidden costs and fees like your storage fees or location of storage as well.