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We all know this – how you invest when you're working is not how you should be investing when you're retired. You can handle volatility when you have income coming in but that sequence of returns risk can be killer when you don't have that cashflow.
As you near or enter retirement, protecting your hard-earned savings is more important than chasing big returns. With tariffs and inflation eating away at your purchasing power, you might be wondering “Is now the time to add gold to my retirement portfolio?”
For some, the answer may be yes and a Gold IRA is one of the most popular ways to do it.
What is a Gold IRA?
A Gold IRA is a self-directed individual retirement account that lets you own physical gold (and sometimes silver, platinum, or palladium). Self-directed IRAs are great because they give you the flexibility to invest in things outside of the stock market, hence “self-directed.”
Instead of being restricted to only investments like stocks or bonds, you can own precious metals like gold.
Why Gold?
Here are some reasons why people are turning to gold:
- Inflation Protection: Gold has stood the test of time as a store of value, even during periods of high inflation.
- Currency protection: Similar to inflation protection, gold holds its value against other currencies even when the dollar loses value (as we've seen in the first half of the year).
- Peace of Mind During Market Swings: When the stock market gets bumpy, gold has historically held steady or even increased in value.
- Legacy Asset: Gold is a physical asset you can pass on to the next generation, often with less complexity than other investments.
What To Watch Out For
- You’ll pay fees. There are setup fees, annual maintenance fees, and storage costs to keep your gold secure in an IRS-approved facility. These are fees you wouldn't pay if you owned a mutual fund.
- There are minimum investments. Most companies require $10,000 to $50,000 to get started.
- You can’t store the gold at home. IRS rules require the gold to be held in a qualified depository – not in your safe or under the mattress. As mentioned earlier, this storage comes at a cost.
Best Gold IRA Companies for 2025
We’ve reviewed some of the most trusted names in the business. These companies help you set up the account, purchase the gold, and store it safely. It's important you do your homework though because they all vary in terms of what they offer.
Augusta Precious Metals
Augusta Precious Metals has been in business since 2012 and have a strong track record over that time period. They have zero complaints in the Better Business Bureau and an A+ rating. They also have an on-staff Harvard-trained economic analyst, Devlyn Steele, who is their education director.
Through Augusta Precious Metals, you can invest in gold and silver in their IRA product. The biggest challenge with Augusta is that the minimum investment is $50,000 – which can be a steep amount depending on how much of your asset allocation you wish to put in gold or silver.
The gold and silver options are IRS-approved and include American Gold Eagles (in numerous denominations), American Silver Eagles, as well as other alternatives. They partner with the Delaware Depository for storage, which includes $1 billion in all-risk insurance and they have locations in 11 cities.
August Precious Metals charges a $50 one-time fee to open a gold IRA account. There is also a $100 annual maintenance fee as well as $100 annual fee for storing metals in a non-government depository.
👉 Request a free Gold IRA guide from Augusta
Goldencrest Metals
Goldencrest Metals is one of the newer gold IRA providers having been founded in 2024 and so doesn't have as long of a history and track record as some of the other providers in this list. As such, they offer significant benefits to new investors, including a 10% silver rebate.
The self-directed IRA is provided through Entrust Group (which we listed earlier) and they use Delaware Depository for storing your precious metals.
Goldencrest has a $25,000 minimum investment on their IRA and there is an annual fee of $199 per year. The storage fee is 0.5% of the account value each year – this is on the higher end for this type of fee.
The differentiator between Goldencrest and others is the benefits you get based on your account size:
- $25,000+ Investment – You get free insured shipping, account set, and one year's free storage plus 10% rebate on silver purchases.
- $50,000+ Investment – Benefits of above plus two years of free storage.
- $100,000+ Investment – Benefits above plus three years of free storage.
- $250,000+ Investment – Benefits above plus five years of free storage.
👉 Learn more about Goldencrest Metals
Birch Gold Group
Birch Gold Group has over twenty years of experience in this industry and offers a wide array of IRA options. They have an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and boast the endorsement of dozens of prominent figures including Donald Trump Jr., Dan Bongino, Ron Paul, Megyn Kelly, and more.
Through Birch Gold Group, you can set up a Precious Metal IRA to invest in IRA-eligible gold, silver, platinum, or palladium. They allow for conventional IRAs, Roth, SIMPLE, SEP, and more.
Birch requires that you open an account with a minimum of $10,000 and this can be done with a deposit or a trustee-to-trustee transfer if you opt for a rollover. Your previous metals are stored at a secure depository, you can choose Delaware Depository or Brink's Global Service.
There is a one-time $50 account set up fee plus annual storage and insurance fees of $100 and a management fee of $125.
👉 Get your free gold info kit from Birch Gold
Goldco
Goldco was founded in 2006 and has a strong A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. They're headquartered in Calabasas, CA, and is one of the largest gold IRA companies around with billions in gold and silver holdings.
They offer a Precious Metals IRA that is a self-directed IRA that lets you hold physical gold and silver. They also offer the direct purchase of precious metals outside of retirement accounts.
Goldco stores their gold at Delaware Depository, which is one of the gold standards in storage.
Goldco has a slightly lower minimum investment of $25,000 to start.
Goldco charges a $50 one-time fee to set up a gold IRA account. There is also a $80 annual maintenance fee as well as an annual fee for storage. It's $100 for non-segregated storage and $150 for segregated storage, where your gold is kept separate from other investors' assets.
👉 Get your free Gold IRA guide from Goldco
Entrust Group
Entrust Group is a well-known and well-respected custodian of self-directed IRAs (SDIRA). You can work with Entrust Group to set up a self-directed IRA that can be invested in practically everything from gold and silver to more traditional investments like stock market funds and ETFs. By working with Entrust, you can get precious metals but also more traditional investments all in one.
There is a $50 account establishment fee plus additional annual fees based on the assets you have in the account. Annual fee of $199 (single asset) or $299 (two or more assets) if total value under $50,000. If over, it's $199/$299 plus 0.25% of total asset value over $50,000 excluding cash. Finally, you have storage fees from the depository (Entrust isn't the depository) which can be $95 to $200 a year.
👉 Request a guide from Entrust Group
Prefer to Own Gold Outside of an IRA?
If you’d rather just own physical gold, without dealing with the hassle of an IRA, these are trusted sources:
- Costco (members only)
- JM Bullion
- APMEX
A Gold IRA isn’t for everyone. But for retirees looking to protect their savings, diversify their nest egg, and preserve wealth for future generations, it can offer peace of mind.
