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Are you intrigued by the idea of holding precious metal in your retirement account? Have you been watching the performance of gold and comparing it to what you’re seeing in the stock market? Some financial experts recommend opening up a Gold IRA that will help you realize all of the promise of precious metals while also helping you prepare for your retirement years.

There are several companies that offer Gold IRA services. In fact, there are so many that trying to sift through all the options and choose someone to work with can be extremely overwhelming. We’re here to help. We’d like to share more information about American Bullion to help you make an informed decision about whether they are the right company to help you accomplish your retirement aspirations.

About American Bullion

More than 10 years ago, Orkan Ozkan and Nevtan Akcora founded American Bullion. The pair felt that not enough individuals were taking advantage of all the benefits to their retirement accounts that a Gold IRA could offer, so they set off to help more people realize these benefits through investing in precious metals. They wanted to simplify the IRA set up process and remove some of the perceived difficulties around the account type.

American Bullion’s website highlights some key aspects of the company that distinguish them from many other similar providers of precious metals. For example, in 2013, they were the first gold company that allowed customers to pay for their metals using Bitcoin, putting them ahead of their time. American Bullion also established an annual scholarship fund in 2014, aimed at supporting students who would otherwise have a difficult time affording higher education. In more recent years, the company has been presented with different awards that show their dedication to their customers. These include the Best of TrustLink award in 2016 and the Bullion Dealer of the Year award from Bullion Directory in 2017.

American Bullion offers a range of services, including Gold IRAs and helping individuals invest in precious metals for a personal investment. The company is highly rated with both the Better Business Bureau and the Business Consumer Alliance. They have earned an A from the BBB (the second-highest rating the company offers) and an AAA from the BCA (the highest possible). They are also a member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) and the Professional Coins Grading Service (PCGS), a Registered Bullion Dealer with the Royal Canadian Mint, and a listed dealer with the United States Mint.

Why to Consider a Gold IRA with American Bullion

There are a plethora of reasons to consider setting up a Gold IRA. Gold is seen as a hedge against inflation. Because its value is not tied to the value of the dollar, it can offer some protection in times of inflation. Another reason to consider adding gold to your portfolio relates to supply and demand. There are limited resources of gold in the world, and demand for this precious metal continues to rise. With increased demand and a low supply, economic principles tell us that the value of gold is also likely to increase.

Yet another reason you may want to consider investing in precious metals is because they will bring diversification to your portfolio. Rather than holding all of your funds in the stock market, some of them will be invested in gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. This means that the impact on your overall portfolio will not be as significant if one asset (like stocks) plummet in value. The gold and other precious metals can help balance everything out. Moreover, the value of gold often rises as the value of the stock market decreases, yet another benefits of investing in gold.

Setting up a Gold IRA with American Bullion

As mentioned earlier, one of the main services American Bullion offers is helping their clients set up Gold IRAs. If you would like to open a new account or rollover your existing retirement account, just reach out to one of the representatives from the company. They can answer your questions and guide you through the process.

American Bullion’s website outlines the three main steps necessary to complete an IRA rollover to fund your new Gold IRA account. To start the process, you need to complete and the Shipping and Transaction Agreement. This gives American Bullion the legal permission to open an account for you, buy the bars and coins you select, and ship your precious metals to a depository.

The next part of the process is to complete the Self-Directed IRA Application. Signing this agreement will allow American Bullion to open an account for you with Start Trust Company, the IRA custodian. Once those two steps are complete, you’ll need to send a current retirement statement showing the available funds in your account.

Once the rollover process is complete, you can work with American Bullion to add the coins and bars you wish to hold to your new account. We’ll discuss the different options you’ll have in a few moments.

Types of Gold IRAs

If you’re familiar with the different types of IRAs, the same options are available for Gold IRAs. A Traditional Gold IRA is one of the most common options. In this IRA type, when you invest in your IRA, you can deduct your contributions. Your funds grow without being taxed, and you only need to pay taxes after you have retired and withdraw funds from the account.

Roth Gold IRAs work a bit differently. Rather than paying taxes on your account when you withdraw the funds, your contributions are pre-taxed. By paying taxes upfront, you do not need to worry about paying any taxes when you are old enough to retire and start accessing the funds in the account.

If you are self-employed or a small business owner, you may also want to consider a SEP IRA. With this account type, you are able to contribute a larger percentage of your total income. As is the case with Traditional IRAs, you will not be taxed until you start taking distributions from the account.

The right account type for you will depend on your employment status, your current tax bracket, and the tax bracket you anticipate being in after retiring.

IRA-Approved Bars and Coins

In the next few sections, we’ll share a few of the IRA-approved bars and coins offered by American Bullion. These are some of the available options that you can add to your new Gold IRA. Unfortunately, American Bullion does not list all of the IRA-approved coins and bars they offer on the website. You will need to contact the company for the full list of available options.

You may notice that the list of IRA-approved bullion is smaller than those available for a personal investment. This is because of the minimum purity restrictions the IRS has developed for precious metals that are being held in an IRA. Each coin or bar must either meet or exceed these requirements. Otherwise they may not be held in a retirement account. The purity minimums vary by precious metal type. Gold bars and coins must be a minimum of 99.5% pure, silver bars and coins have to be at least 99.9% pure, and palladium and platinum bars and coins are required to be at least 99.95% pure.

Here are some of the options that meet these criteria, but again you should reach out to a representative for a full list of the IRA-approved bars and coins available through American Bullion.

Gold

Silver

Platinum

Palladium

Selling Precious Metals

When you’re ready to sell precious metals for your Gold IRA, American Bullion will be available to offer assistance. First, determine how much you want to sell/how much cash you need, then call to speak with an account representative. Just remember, if you are younger than 59 ½, the IRS’ age of retirement, you will not be able to take distributions from your account without paying taxes and a 10% penalty for withdrawing the funds early. Taxes will be due on distributions from Traditional Gold IRAs, but because Roth IRAs are pre-taxed, you will not need to pay taxes on any funds you withdraw from this account type.

Another important thing to note is that once you turn 72 years old, you will be required to start taking at least the minimum distributions from your account. You will be sent an RMD (Required Minimum Distribution) letter from your IRA custodian outlining the amount you are required to withdraw from the account every year. You can contact American Bullion once you receive this letter, and they will help you make sure the distributions are taken out and sent to you as required.

Purchasing Precious Metals for Direct Delivery

Adding gold, silver, platinum, and palladium to your retirement account is just one way to invest in precious metals with American Bullion. You can also purchase precious metals for direct delivery to hold them as a personal investment. When you open a Gold IRA, you have more limited options because of the purity minimums the IRS has in place, but with a personal investment, there are no such requirements, allowing you to hold more collectible and historic pieces. Purchasing some gold and silver pieces beyond what is in your retirement account can also help you make sure you have fast access to funds, even if you’re not old enough to retire and start taking distributions from an IRA.

If you’re interested in purchasing physical gold and silver from American Bullion, start by reaching out to one of the account representative. They’ll help you choose which coins and bars you want to hold (if you haven’t already decided) and can help you initiate the transfer of funds via a wire transfer.

After the wired money arrives at American Bullion, your precious metals will be carefully and discreetly packed. Every shipment is fully insured against damage, loss, or theft until the time it arrives at your door. In many cases, a signature upon delivery will also be required to further protect your purchase.

Resources for Clients

American Bullion understands that the concept of investing in precious metals is a bit confusing to some people. For this reason, they have dedicated an entire section of their website to offering resources to their clients. This section is broken down into several categories. One category is IRA-permissible precious metals. This is a good area of the page to visit if you want to find out more about the IRS’ requirements for holding gold, silver, platinum, or palladium coins and bars in your account.

Another section under the resources tab is retirement accounts. Click on the links to the various pages under this section to learn more about IRAs, Roth IRAs, Self-Directed IRAs, and Traditional IRAs.

The final category under the resources tab is labeled “other resources.” Here you’ll find a plethora of links where you can learn more about investing in precious metals. From infographics for Gold IRAs, a Gold IRA checklist, precious metals glossaries and FAQ sections, and a list of IRA-approved coins, this is a great area of the website to visit if you’re new to investing in precious metals.

Download a Free Gold Guide

Do you think American Bullion may be the right company for you to work with? Do you still have a few lingering questions about the company itself or setting up a Gold IRA in general? If so, you might want to visit their website to request the free Gold Guide. In this guide, you can find helpful information about what you can expect as an American Bullion customer. You’ll learn more about how the IRS set-up process works, as well as the various coins and bars you can add to your account.

Requesting a copy of the guide is simple. Just click on the gold “Get Your FREE Gold Guide” banner at the bottom of the website. Then, you’ll just need to enter your name, email address, and phone number.