SafeOunce judges gold IRA rollover companies on 4 things: the rollover rules they state, the time to the vault, the cost of rollover money and who holds it. Many review pages are paid when a reader contacts a company they list; here, no company can pay for its place. The evidence is each company's own rollover page, contract and policies. A rollover moves retirement money, such as a 401(k), into a new IRA without paying tax on the move.
We checked 14 companies that sell gold for IRAs on September 29, 2026, and only 3 of their rollover pages stated both key IRS rules correctly. A gold IRA company is the dealer that sells you the metal, while a custodian (a trust company) holds your IRA and receives the money. So which companies handle your 401(k) the way the rules and their own contracts say?
This page adds rollover checks to our ranking of the best gold IRA companies. It covers whether you need a company at all, 14 companies on 5 rollover tests, timing, cost and who holds the money. It ends with the best fit by account and 7 questions to ask. The overall ranking on cost, contracts and legal record is in our best gold IRA companies list.
The table below sums up what we checked, as of September 29, 2026.
| Item | Result and source |
|---|---|
| Companies checked | 14 operating sellers of IRA gold; Lear Capital and 8 failed or sanctioned sellers are not ranked |
| Companies with a SafeOunce Score | 0 so far |
| Rollover pages that state both the 20% plan-check withholding and the once-per-12-months limit correctly | 3 of 14: Allegiance Gold, Noble Gold Investments, Priority Gold |
| Rollover pages that use "IRS-approved" or "regulated by the IRS" | 7 of 14 |
| Contracts that state a delivery time to the vault | 3: American Hartford Gold, 4 to 8 weeks after the custodian's funds arrive; Preserve Gold and American Bullion, 28 days |
| Cancellation window of at least 7 days that covers bullion and does not start at signing | 1 of 14: Augusta, up to 7 calendar days after confirmation (its FAQ, a company statement); none starts when the custodian receives the money |
| Companies that publish a fee for moving money and then not buying | 1: American Bullion, the greater of $250 or 0.50% |
| The 20% trap on a 401(k) check paid to you | A $250,000 check arrives as $200,000; if you do not make up the $50,000, it costs $16,000 of tax (age 52, 22% bracket) |
| Can a company pay for its place here? | No. The interim order follows 5 draft rollover tests, and scores come only from the published method |
Do You Need a Gold IRA Company for Your Rollover? 4 Ways to Move Retirement Money Into Gold#
You need a gold IRA company for a rollover only if you want coins or bars in your IRA and help with the paperwork. A gold fund in the IRA you already have, or bullion bought through your own custodian, often costs less.
Many gold IRAs are funded by a rollover, because new contributions are capped at $7,500 for 2026, or $8,600 at age 50 and older (IRS Notice 2025-67). You have 4 routes, from a gold ETF (a fund that owns gold and trades like a stock) to a full-service gold IRA company.
Three more terms help here. A self-directed IRA is an IRA whose custodian lets you hold metal. The spread is the part of your price that is not metal, and a round trip means buying and then selling back the same day.
The table below compares the 4 routes on $100,000 held for 10 years, with the gold price flat, as of September 29, 2026.
| Route | What you own | 10-year cost on $100,000 (gold price flat) | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold ETF in the IRA you already have (gold IRA vs gold ETF) | Fund shares backed by vaulted gold | About $1,000 at 0.10% a year (GLDM, fund 10-K) | You own fund shares, not coins |
| Bullion inside a brokerage IRA (Fidelity gold IRA) | Coins and bars held through FideliTrade | About $6,990 before any dealer spread: buy 2.90% to 0.99%, sell 2.00% to 0.75%, storage 0.125% a quarter (schedule FA-FEES-0926) | Short product list; $1,000 IRA minimum purchase |
| Self-directed metals custodian plus a bullion dealer you choose (bullion dealer vs gold IRA company) | IRA-eligible bullion | About $8,580: a 5.4% round trip plus $3,180 of Equity Trust metals-only segregated fees, exit included | You fill in the forms yourself |
| Gold IRA company | The same bullion, or premium coins | About $8,580 on plain bullion, up to about $45,983 at American Hartford Gold's 39.99% cap for "exclusive" coins (agreement dated September 2026) | The spread is set on the phone |
The gap between the rows is almost all spread. The custodian fees are similar on routes 3 and 4, so the extra cost at a gold IRA company comes from its price per coin. A company earns that cost only when its help saves you more than its spread takes.
The rollover itself works the same way on every route: the money moves from the old plan or IRA to a custodian, never through your hands. How the money moves step by step, whichever route you pick, is in our gold IRA rollover guide.
If a company is the route you want, which one handles a rollover best? The next table answers with 5 written tests.
The Best Gold IRA Rollover Companies: 14 Companies Checked on 5 Rollover Tests#
No single company is the best gold IRA rollover company for every rollover, and none has a SafeOunce Score yet (September 29, 2026). So the table orders 14 gold IRA rollover companies by how many of 5 rollover tests they meet in writing, not by quality.
"Rating pending" means we have no score until a company sends a written price quote and its customer agreement, the contract you sign with the dealer. A spread cap is the most a contract lets the dealer keep from your price. In the table, Y means met in writing, P means partly met (counted as 0) and N means not met or not published. IRA minimums are company statements read on September 29, 2026, unless another date is shown.
Interim order: by how many rollover tests each company meets in writing. This is not a quality score.
| # | Company and IRA minimum | Score | Tests met (of 5) | Rules stated correctly | Time to vault in writing | Cancel window: 7+ days, covers bullion, not from signing | Agreement online | Price or cap visible |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | American Bullion review: recommends $10,000, not a minimum | Rating pending | 3 | N | Y (28 days, agreement) | N (none published) | Y | Y ("typically" 7% to 23%) |
| 2 | American Hartford Gold review: minimum not confirmed | Rating pending | 3 | N | Y (4 to 8 weeks, agreement) | N (from signing, non-bullion only) | Y | Y (bullion 1.00% to 19.99%) |
| 3 | Preserve Gold review: minimum not published | Rating pending | 3 | N | Y (28 days, agreement) | N (24 hours after invoice) | Y | Y (IRA up to 34.99%) |
| 4 | Allegiance Gold review: $10,000 (reported by Money, September 2026, repeated on its site) | Rating pending | 2 | Y | Y ("2 to 4 weeks", web page) | N (sales final) | N | N |
| 5 | Noble Gold Investments review: $20,000 minimum | Rating pending | 2 | Y | Y ("two to four weeks", guide) | N | N | N |
| 6 | Augusta Precious Metals review: $50,000 (FAQ, September 23, 2026) | Rating pending | 1 | N | N | Y (up to 7 days, company FAQ) | N | N |
| 7 | GoldenCrest Metals review: $10,000 minimum | Rating pending | 1 | N | Y ("1-2 weeks", FAQ) | N | N | N |
| 8 | Orion Metal Exchange review: minimum not published | Rating pending | 1 | N | N | N | N | Y (live prices online) |
| 9 | Priority Gold review: minimum not published | Rating pending | 1 | Y | N | P (3 business days to 8 days) | N | N |
| 10 | Advantage Gold review: minimum not published | Rating pending | 0 | N | P ("In a few days") | N (loss plus fee) | N | N |
| 11 | Birch Gold Group review: $5,000 minimum | Rating pending | 0 | N | N | N (counterfeit returns only) | N | N |
| 12 | Goldco review: $25,000 minimum | Rating pending | 0 | N | P ("a few days to a few weeks") | N | N | N |
| 13 | Patriot Gold Group review: minimum not published | Rating pending | 0 | N | N | N | N | N |
| 14 | U.S. Money Reserve review: minimum not published; fee offer needs $200,000 | Rating pending | 0 | N (20% not stated) | N | N (IRA program excluded) | N | N |
A company that meets more tests puts more of the rollover in writing; it does not mean its prices are lower. Ask every company on your shortlist for the same written quote, on the same day, for the same coins. Lear Capital and 8 failed or sanctioned sellers are left out and explained below.
The companies that met 5 common needs in writing on September 29, 2026 are listed below. This is a shortlist by need, not a verdict on quality.
- Both rollover rules stated correctly: Allegiance Gold, Noble Gold Investments, Priority Gold.
- Contract online with a delivery time and a spread cap: American Hartford Gold, Preserve Gold, American Bullion.
- Longest published cancel window that covers bullion: Augusta, up to 7 calendar days after confirmation (company FAQ).
- Lowest published minimum: Birch Gold Group, $5,000.
- Live prices online: Orion Metal Exchange.
None of the top search results we read on September 29, 2026 compared companies on how they handle a rollover.
Why no gold IRA rollover company has a SafeOunce Score yet#
No gold IRA rollover company has a SafeOunce Score yet. Four of the 7 criteria need company documents, such as a written price quote and the customer agreement, and we score only what is in writing.
To get them, SafeOunce runs a mystery shop: we ask each company for a quote as "a prospective $50,000 rollover customer" and record the answer. Data we cannot see scores 0. A company that sends nothing within 10 business days is listed "Not rated: would not disclose", and every score is rechecked each quarter.
How will the score treat rollovers? The 5 rollover tests sit next to the score on this page, and they do not change the 100-point score. Each score, when published, and every later change is dated in the SafeOunce ratings changelog.
Which gold IRA companies explain the rollover rules correctly? 14 rollover pages checked#
Only 3 of 14 gold IRA companies stated both key rollover rules correctly on the rollover page we read on September 29, 2026. The two rules are the 20% withholding on plan checks and one IRA rollover per 12 months across all your IRAs.
Withholding is tax the payer keeps back for the IRS. A plan check is a 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), TSP or pension payout made out to you.
A direct rollover pays the new custodian and loses nothing, while an indirect rollover pays you. Why the 20% only hits plan checks is set out in direct vs indirect rollover. A 60-day rollover means you get the check yourself and must deposit it within 60 days.
The table below shows each company's rollover page as we read it on September 29, 2026, with the page's own date. Other pages of the same company may differ.
| Company (page read, date shown on it) | 20% on plan checks, stated and scoped | Once per 12 months, across all IRAs | Timeline stated | "IRS-approved" or similar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allegiance Gold (401(k) rollover page, July 2, 2026) | Yes: "from an employer plan" | Yes: "across all your IRAs" | "2 to 4 weeks" | Not seen |
| American Bullion (FAQ, undated) | No: says "As long as the new deposit is made within 60 days, there is no tax liability" | No | Vaulting "about 7 business days" | Not seen on the FAQ |
| American Hartford Gold (rollover guide, March 4, 2025; FAQ, undated) | No: FAQ says "There are no taxes or penalties incurred if you send the check to us and it is deposited into your account within 60 days" | No | FAQ: a transfer takes "one-five business days" | "IRS-approved depository" |
| Augusta Precious Metals (401(k) rollover page, September 15, 2026) | Not stated | Not stated | None | None seen |
| Birch Gold Group (rollover guide, updated September 22, 2026) | No | No | None | None seen |
| GoldenCrest Metals (IRA FAQ, undated 2026 page) | Partial: 20% stated for any "check", not only plan checks | No: "Only one indirect rollover is permitted per 12-month period per IRA account" | "1-2 weeks" | Not seen |
| Goldco (rollover guide, updated April 2024; "Chapter 3" page, undated) | No: "taxes will be withheld", no rate | No: "you can only make one rollover from the same IRA per year" | "a few days to a few weeks" | None seen |
| Noble Gold Investments (401(k) rollover guide, May 28, 2026) | Yes: "20% mandatory withholding from a qualified plan" | Yes: "applies to IRA-to-IRA rollovers only" | "two to four weeks" | "IRS-approved depository" |
| Orion Metal Exchange (rollover page, April 29, 2024) | No: "there is no tax obligation if you place the retirement funds in another IRA within 60 days" | No | None | "IRS approved retirement program" |
| Patriot Gold Group (401(k) rollover page, undated) | No rule content | No | None | None seen |
| Preserve Gold (rollover guide, January 17, 2025) | No | No | None | "IRS-approved depository" |
| Priority Gold (401(k) rollover guide, updated September 15, 2026) | Yes: "a retirement plan distribution paid to you is subject to mandatory withholding of 20%" | Yes: "not to transfers, Roth conversions, or plan-to-IRA rollovers" | None | "IRS-approved metals" |
| Advantage Gold (rollover page, undated) | No | No | "In a few days" | "IRS-approved depositories" |
| U.S. Money Reserve (rollover article, February 10, 2023) | No | Yes: "regardless of the number of IRAs you own" | None | Custodian "licensed and regulated by the IRS" |
The 4 counts from the table are listed below.
- Both rules correct: 3 of 14 (Allegiance Gold, Noble Gold Investments, Priority Gold).
- Once-per-year limit correct: 4 of 14, adding U.S. Money Reserve.
- Once-per-year limit stated the pre-2015 way, per IRA: 2 (Goldco, GoldenCrest).
- "IRS-approved" or "regulated by the IRS": 7 of 14. The IRS says "there is no list of approved investments" (Retirement Plan Investments FAQs); the right term is IRA-eligible under 26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3).
A transfer from custodian to custodian avoids both the 20% and the one-rollover-per-year rule, because no check reaches you. Every edge case is in the one-rollover-per-year rule.
How SafeOunce Judges a Gold IRA Rollover Company: 5 Rollover Tests on Top of 7 Criteria#
SafeOunce adds 5 rollover tests to its 7-criterion score. They check rule accuracy, time to the vault, the cancel window, the agreement and a visible price.
A criterion is one thing we score. Each rollover test is a yes-or-no check of what a company puts in writing before your money moves. The 5 tests are a draft set for this page and are not yet part of the published method.
SafeOunce's rollover checks (draft)
| Test | What we check | Why it matters on a rollover | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Rule accuracy | The rollover page states the 20% plan-check rule and the all-IRAs once-per-12-months rule correctly | A wrong rule can turn a rollover into a taxable payout | The company's rollover page, dated |
| 2. Time to vault in writing | A funding or delivery time in days, on the web or in the contract | The metal is not yours in the vault until it is delivered; 28 days is our benchmark | Contract clause or page |
| 3. Cancellation window | At least 7 days, covers bullion and does not start at signing (ideal: starts when the custodian receives the money) | A clock that starts at signing can close before the money arrives | Contract or policy |
| 4. Agreement online | You can read the customer agreement before you sign the transfer form | You agree to its terms with your retirement money | Published PDF |
| 5. Price or cap visible | A spread cap in the contract, or live prices | The spread is the largest cost of a rollover | Contract or price page |
SafeOunce rates gold IRA companies on 7 criteria worth 100 points. Price paid counts for 30, account costs for 10, contract fairness for 15 and regulatory and legal record for 20. Complaint record counts for 10, product mix and sales pressure for 10, and custody and delivery for 5. Gates come first; a gate is a pass-or-fail rule applied before scoring.
Six gates keep a seller out of the score. They cover sellers that closed or went bankrupt, were sanctioned or settled a pricing or disclosure case. They also cover sellers on watch (such as a pending regulator action), sellers that would not disclose their terms and sellers out of scope. The 7 criteria, their weights, the 6 gates and every data source are published in how SafeOunce rates gold IRA companies.
The tests do not measure how friendly the rollover specialist is, how fast the paperwork feels or star ratings; they measure what is in writing.
Timing: How Long a Gold IRA Rollover Company Takes to Get Your Metal Into the Vault#
A gold IRA rollover usually takes about 2 to 6 weeks to reach the new custodian (SafeOunce estimate). One company's contract then allows 4 to 8 more weeks to reach the vault.
The money moves in 3 stages. The old plan or IRA pays the new custodian, and the custodian pays the dealer once you approve the order. The dealer then ships the metal to the depository, the vault that stores IRA metal. The fast broker-to-broker system under FINRA Rule 11870 does not cover most metals custodians, and E*TRADE says paper transfers "generally take three to six weeks".
Sales pages promise faster times than contracts. American Hartford Gold's FAQ says a transfer takes "one-five business days"; Advantage Gold says "In a few days". Delivery is set by contract, and that clock starts only after good funds (money that has cleared) reach the dealer.
So how long does a gold IRA rollover take at your old provider? Provider-by-provider times are in how long does a gold IRA rollover take.
What happens to your right to cancel during those weeks?
Does the cancellation window close before your rollover money arrives?#
Often, yes: most published windows start at signing, at the invoice or at confirmation, so they can close before your rollover money reaches the custodian. An invoice is the bill the dealer sends after the order, and confirmation is the dealer's notice that your order is booked.
American Hartford Gold's Shipping and Transaction Agreement dated September 2026 gives 7 days to cancel non-bullion coins only. The period "shall begin from the execution date of this Agreement regardless of whether the account is fully funded". In plain English: the clock starts when you sign, even before your rollover money arrives.
The 5 dated steps below show a rollover signed on Monday, October 5, 2026.
- Monday, October 5, 2026: you sign an American Hartford Gold agreement.
- Monday, October 12: the 7-day window closes. It covers only non-bullion coins.
- Monday, October 19 to Monday, November 16: the rollover money reaches the custodian (about 2 to 6 weeks, SafeOunce estimate).
- Monday, November 16, 2026 to Monday, January 11, 2027: the metal reaches the vault, 4 to 8 weeks after the custodian's funds, per the agreement.
- Result: the window closes 1 to 5 weeks before the money arrives and 5 to 13 weeks before the metal does.
At Lear Capital or Preserve Gold, an order invoiced Monday at 3 p.m. can be cancelled only until Tuesday at 3 p.m. Only Priority Gold's IRA clock starts after funding, at its transfer notice (its notice that the metal has moved to your IRA). Its length varies by state, from 3 business days to 8 days. No company publishes a window that starts when the custodian receives your money.
The table below shows where each company's clock starts, per its own document.
| Company (document, date) | Window | When the clock starts | Covers bullion? |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Hartford Gold (agreement, September 2026) | 7 days | At signing, "regardless of whether the account is fully funded" | No |
| Preserve Gold (agreement, June 2025) | 24 hours | At the invoice | Yes |
| Lear Capital (terms, December 2025; not ranked) | 24 hours, longer where state law requires | At the invoice | Yes |
| Augusta Precious Metals (FAQ, September 23, 2026; company statement) | Up to 7 calendar days, longer where state law requires | After the transaction is confirmed | Yes (all transactions) |
| Priority Gold (refund policy, read September 29, 2026) | 3 business days to 8 days, by state | For IRA metal, when Priority issues its transfer notice, "regardless of when Customer obtains actual knowledge" | Depends on state |
| Advantage Gold (terms, read September 29, 2026) | None after confirmation | You bear any market loss plus a fee (percentage left blank) | Not applicable |
| Allegiance Gold (site, read September 29, 2026) | Sales final (15-day replacement only) | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| U.S. Money Reserve (user agreement, March 27, 2026) | 3 business days | The user agreement excludes the IRA program | Not applicable |
| Birch, Goldco, GoldenCrest, Noble, Orion, Patriot, American Bullion | Not published | Not published | Not published |
Augusta's "24-hour Highest Buyback Price Guarantee window" in the same FAQ is a buyback price item, not its cancellation window.
The IRA itself carries a separate revocation right: you can undo a new IRA within at least 7 days, against the custodian. You then get back "the entire amount ... without adjustment for such items as sales commissions, administrative expenses or fluctuation in market value" (Treas. Reg. 1.408-6). In plain English: the custodian returns every dollar, but the dealer's terms decide what happens to a metal order. The steps to cancel a gold IRA with the custodian are on a separate page.
What gold IRA company contracts say about delivery to the depository#
Only 3 of 14 gold IRA companies put a delivery time in a published contract. Preserve Gold and American Bullion allow 28 days; American Hartford Gold allows 4 to 8 weeks. Delivery here means the day the metal reaches the depository in your IRA's name.
The table below sets each contract's delivery clause beside what the same company's pages say about speed.
| Company | Contract delivery clause (document, date) | What the company's pages say about speed |
|---|---|---|
| American Hartford Gold | "within four to eight weeks after confirmation that the Purchase Funds have been received from the third-party custodian" (agreement, September 2026); if storage delivery fails after 28 days, AHG may cancel | FAQ: a transfer takes "one-five business days" |
| Preserve Gold | "within twenty-eight (28) days after PGG's verification that the Purchase Funds are backed by good funds" (agreement, June 2025) | No speed claim on the rollover page we read (dated January 17, 2025) |
| American Bullion | Delivery "no more than twenty-eight (28) days" after funds are verified (agreement, October 2024) | FAQ: IRA shipping "usually takes about 7 business days" |
Every clause of the gold IRA company contracts, from delivery to markup caps, is set side by side in gold IRA company contracts compared.
The 28-day benchmark comes from federal delivery law for financed metal sales, so here it is a yardstick, not an IRA deadline. Washington's securities regulator found that Rosland Capital delivered IRA metal 33 to 168 days after payment (order S-20-3045-22-CO01, August 4, 2022). If 28 days pass with no metal on your custodian statement (not the dealer's email), follow is your gold really in your IRA.
Cost: What Gold IRA Rollover Companies Charge on Rollover Money#
On a rollover, the dealer's spread costs far more than the account fees. On $100,000, one point of spread equals about 3.5 years of a $285 yearly fee.
Account fees are the custodian's setup, yearly and storage charges, such as $235 or $285 a year on Equity Trust's metals-only schedule (Rev. 081726). The spread comes out of your money once, on day one, and it grows with the size of the rollover. A gold IRA markup is priced over the dealer's cost, while a spread is the same cut shown as a share of your price. How dealers set the spread is explained in gold IRA markups and spreads.
So which companies charge the least on a rollover?
Which gold IRA companies offer the best rollover rates?#
No gold IRA company publishes a "rollover rate"; the closest numbers are the spread caps in 3 ranked companies' contracts and one company's live prices, as of September 29, 2026. A spread cap is a ceiling, not the price you pay, and spot is the market price of gold for immediate delivery. The 5 published numbers are listed below.
- American Hartford Gold: a bullion spread of 1.00% to 19.99% (agreement dated September 2026).
- American Bullion: a spread "typically between seven percent (7%) and twenty-three percent (23%)" (agreement dated October 2024).
- Preserve Gold: IRA orders "generally up to" 34.99% (agreement dated June 2025).
- Lear Capital (not ranked): 2% to 35% of the quoted price (terms dated December 2025).
- Orion Metal Exchange: a 1 oz Gold Eagle at 5.90% over spot on its live price page (snapshot about 9:54 a.m. UTC, September 29, 2026).
For scale, a 1 oz Gold Eagle cost 5.39% round trip at SD Bullion on September 29, 2026. The CFTC puts bullion markups at 5% to 10% over spot and numismatic coins at 40% to 200% (advisory 8215-20, August 4, 2020).
To compare, ask each company for the price per coin and its percent over spot on the same day, for the same coins. Our ranking of gold IRA companies with the lowest total cost adds the spread to every fee.
Do gold IRA companies charge more on IRA orders than on cash orders?#
Some do: Preserve Gold's June 2025 agreement caps cash bullion at 20% but allows up to 34.99% on IRA orders. New York also alleged that Lear Capital salespeople could charge up to 33% above cost on IRA metal.
The table below compares the cash and IRA caps in 3 documents.
| Document | Cash bullion cap | IRA cap |
|---|---|---|
| Preserve Gold (agreement, June 2025) | Up to 20% on bullion | "generally up to thirty four point ninety nine percent (34.99%)" for IRA bullion and other coins |
| American Hartford Gold (agreement V323, 2023; superseded 2023 version) | Up to 19.99% on bullion | IRA "generally up to thirty-four point ninety-nine percent (34.99%)"; the September 2026 version applies the same caps "for cash and IRA transactions" |
| Lear Capital (New York Attorney General petition, 2021; allegations, settled with no admission) | "typically charged up to a 10% fee for bullion sold outside of an IRA" | A salesperson "could charge anywhere from 0% (sell at cost) to 33% above cost for any metal sold into an IRA" |
Break-even is the rise gold needs before you get back what you paid, and it equals the spread divided by (1 minus the spread). Test a quote in the gold IRA break-even calculator.
Higher caps matter most on premium coins. Numismatic coins are collector coins priced above their metal value. American Hartford Gold's September 2026 agreement allows up to 39.99% on "exclusive" coins and up to 59.99% on limited numismatic coins. A switch from bullion to numismatic coins is an upsell that raises the cap. How a plain rollover turns into collector coins is in numismatic coin upsells.
What does a "no-cost rollover" really cost?#
A "no-cost rollover" usually means the company does not bill you for the paperwork. You can still pay an exit fee, the custodian's fees and the spread on every coin. An exit fee is what the old provider charges to close or transfer your account. Money.com's list of September 25, 2026 shows an American Hartford Gold promotion for a "100% No-Cost IRA or 401(k) Rollover".
The table below shows the 3 cost layers of a rollover, with dated examples.
| Cost | Who charges it | Dated example |
|---|---|---|
| Leaving the old provider | The brokerage or plan | Vanguard $100 per account (schedule effective July 10, 2026; $400 for a couple with 4 accounts); Schwab $50 full, $0 partial (April 2026); E*TRADE $75 full outgoing (September 29, 2026); Merrill Edge $49.95 IRA closeout (schedule 11/2025); Robinhood $100 plus any match clawback ($5,100 on a $250,000 rollover with a 2% bonus moved out within 5 years); Morgan Stanley $125 ($95 self-directed) plus the IRA annual fee due on transfer |
| Opening the gold IRA | The custodian | Equity Trust metals-only schedule FS-0004-05 Rev. 081726: $50 setup, then $235 or $285 a year; Augusta says it pays up to 10 years of fees (FAQ, September 23, 2026; conditions not stated) |
| Buying the metal | The dealer | The spread on every coin: a 5.39% round trip on a 1 oz Gold Eagle at a large online dealer (September 29, 2026), up to caps of 19.99% to 59.99% under American Hartford Gold's September 2026 agreement |
What it costs to leave your brokerage or 401(k) depends on the provider and on moving all or part. Every provider's exit fee is listed in what it costs to leave your brokerage or 401(k).
FINRA warns: "Even if there are no costs associated with a rollover itself, there will almost certainly be costs related to account administration, investment management or both." It adds: "Don't roll over your retirement funds solely based on the word 'free.'" (FINRA, read September 29, 2026).
Companies also run no-fee gold IRA offers that pay the custodian's fees for a set number of years, while the spread stays. What a fee waiver is really worth is in no-fee gold IRA offers.
What if you move the money and then decide not to buy?#
At one company you pay. American Bullion's October 2024 agreement charges the greater of $250 or 0.50% of the money moved if you then do not buy.
The clause applies if you open a metals IRA "with help from American, but then either cancels or does not place the metals order with American." You then owe "a Precious Metals IRA processing fee in the amount of $250 or 0.50% of the transferred funds, whichever amount is greater." The fee "may and will be deducted from his/her received funds." A processing fee is a charge for handling the paperwork.
The fee is $250 on a $30,000 or $50,000 rollover, $500 on $100,000 and $1,250 on $250,000. Safeguard Metals, a failed seller, used the same clause as a rollover cancellation fee. The other 13 ranked companies publish nothing on this.
Why do gold IRA companies push rollovers?#
Rollovers are where the money is: New York alleged that Lear Capital's average IRA sale in 2015 was $52,100, about 4 times its average non-IRA sale of $13,200. The New York Attorney General's petition of June 17, 2021 makes these allegations; Lear settled for $6 million with no admission (December 30, 2021).
The petition quotes a Lear training slide: "2015 Average Numis [non-IRA] Deal: $13.2k Versus 2015 Average IRA Deal: $52.1k." It says IRA sales "comprised 21% in transactions and 53% in dollar volume of Lear Capital's sales to New Yorkers." Salespeople were told to "[p]itch the Metals IRAs to every prospect" (NY AG petition).
The same petition says investors were "shocked to see in their first statement from their new IRA custodian" that their holdings "had declined by a third." Your gold IRA statement values metal at spot or at the dealer's bid, without the dealer's premium. On a $100,000 rollover, the first statement shows about $94,600 after a 5.4% round trip. At a 23.7% day-one loss (American Hartford Gold's 19.99% bullion cap plus the buyback gap), it shows about $76,300. Why the first number is lower is explained in your gold IRA statement.
Safety: Who Holds Your Rollover Money While It Moves to the Gold IRA#
Your new custodian holds your rollover money while it moves, never the gold IRA company: every check or wire is made payable to the custodian for your IRA. The custodian holds the IRA and pays the dealer only on your signed direction.
The 4 safety checks for rollover money are listed below.
- Make every check or wire payable to "[Custodian name] FBO [Your Name] IRA", never to the company. FBO means "for the benefit of": the money is for your IRA at that custodian. American Hartford Gold's FAQ says "send the check to us"; ask whether that means forwarding a check made out to the custodian. Your gold IRA rollover paperwork takes the payee line from the custodian's letter of acceptance, the form telling your old provider where to send money; see gold IRA rollover paperwork.
- Confirm that the vault account is in your IRA's name, not a dealer master account. A master account is one vault account that holds more than one customer's metal. Regal Assets pooled customer metal this way (see the table below).
- Watch for the metal on your custodian statement within about 28 days of funding. That is a benchmark, not a legal deadline.
- Check whether the company becomes your IRA's "designated representative" at the custodian. A designated representative is a person you authorize to give instructions on your IRA. Advantage Gold is appointed by default at STRATA Trust Company, and you can remove it.
Gold IRA custodians hold the account but do not check the dealer or its prices. The SEC and state regulators warn: "Self-directed IRA custodians generally do not evaluate the quality or legitimacy of any investment in the self-directed IRA or its promoters" (SEC/NASAA alert). What each custodian does and charges is in gold IRA custodians.
The seller does not work for you either. American Hartford Gold's agreement dated September 2026 says "no fiduciary relationship exists" and asks buyers to hold "a minimum of five years or more." In plain English: the rollover specialist owes you no duty to act in your best interest, and the contract expects you to hold for at least 5 years.
Gold IRA companies not ranked for rollovers, and why#
SafeOunce does not rank 9 gold IRA companies for rollovers: 8 failed, closed or were sanctioned, and Lear Capital is set aside after $14.25 million in pricing settlements. The table below shows the 5 whose records matter most for rollover money.
| Company | Status | What happened to IRA customers (case, date) |
|---|---|---|
| Lear Capital review | Operating, not ranked (pricing settlements; eligible again from 2028 under methodology v1.0) | $14.25 million in public settlements over undisclosed markups, no admission; New York alleged up to 33% on IRA metal (2021) |
| Rosland Capital bankruptcy | Failed | Liquidating Chapter 11 filed July 2, 2026 (Bankr. C.D. Cal. 2:26-bk-16650-BB); about $49 million of paid but undelivered orders and $11.8 million of unpaid buybacks, owed to about 617 customers |
| Oxford Gold Group bankruptcy | Failed | Involuntary Chapter 7 filed by customers August 28, 2024 (2:24-bk-16947-NB) |
| Regal Assets | Failed | Over $21 million misappropriated from over 120 customers, metal pooled in a dealer master account; CFTC default judgments October 15, 2024, about $49.2 million |
| Safeguard Metals | Failed | $66,948,960 taken from more than 450 customers; CFTC final judgment September 30, 2025 |
Rosland reported $212,661.60 of cash on August 6, 2026, about 0.35% of what its customers are owed. Safeguard kept a markup of $25,569,303, or 61.8% over its cost, according to the CFTC case.
Lear Capital is operating and emerged from Chapter 11; it stays set aside under the pricing-settlement gate. The other 4 unranked sellers are Red Rock Secured (renamed American Coin Co. and sanctioned), Metals.com (failed), Midas Gold Group (failed) and Gold Alliance (closed). Those failed gold IRA companies, and what happens to an account when a seller collapses, are on failed gold IRA companies.
Best Gold IRA Rollover Company for Your Account: 401(k), TSP, 403(b), 457(b), Pension or IRA#
The best gold IRA rollover company for you moves your money by direct rollover or transfer, to a custodian you can name. It also puts its price, delivery time and cancellation window in writing.
An in-service rollover moves money out of a plan while you still work there, and a governmental 457(b) is a plan for state and local government workers.
Three more terms appear in the table. Spousal consent is your spouse's signed approval, which pension payouts and TSP payouts for FERS members need. The PBGC is the federal agency that insures private pensions, and the C Fund is the TSP's stock index fund.
The table below matches 9 source accounts with the method and the number that decides it, as of September 29, 2026.
| If you are moving... | The method | The number that decides it | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| A 401(k) from a former job | Direct rollover to the new custodian | $16,000 of tax if a $250,000 check is paid to you (see the worked example in the rules section) | 401(k) to gold IRA rollover |
| A 401(k) at your current job | In-service rollover, if the plan allows it, usually from 59 1/2 | The plan must allow it even when the law does | in-service rollover |
| The TSP | Direct rollover; one institution per balance type; spouse consent for FERS | Gold must beat the C Fund (0.035% a year) by about 1.88% a year for 10 years at a 20% spread ($300,000, $250 a year of fees, SafeOunce assumption) | TSP to gold IRA rollover |
| A 403(b) | Direct rollover; in-service from 59 1/2 for deferrals | The same 20% withholding rule as a 401(k) | 403(b) to gold IRA rollover |
| A governmental 457(b) | Direct rollover, but the plan's exemption from the 10% additional tax is lost | Retire at 52 with $300,000 and take $40,000 a year: $0 extra tax in the plan vs up to $30,000 from an IRA before 59 1/2 (IRS Notice 2020-62) | 457(b) to gold IRA rollover |
| A pension lump sum | Direct rollover after spousal consent | The PBGC guarantees up to $7,789.77 a month at 65 (2026, straight life) inside the plan | pension to gold IRA rollover |
| An IRA at a bank or brokerage | Trustee-to-trustee transfer: no 60-day clock, no once-per-year limit, no withholding | Exit fees of $0 to $125 per account (see the no-cost table above) | IRA to gold IRA transfer |
| Under $25,000 | Often a gold fund instead | A $10,000 physical bullion IRA loses about $3,720 (37.2%) to costs in 10 years | best gold IRA companies for small investors |
| A first gold IRA | Protection first: a long cancellation window covering bullion, a public contract, a written quote | 1 of 14 publishes a window of at least 7 days that starts after confirmation and covers bullion | best gold IRA companies for beginners |
A governmental 457(b) and a pension both give up a protection inside the plan that no gold IRA company can replace. For money already in an IRA, a transfer avoids all three rollover traps at once.
The 4 edge cases below change the answer for many readers aged 55 and older.
- Already taking RMDs: required minimum distributions (RMDs) start at 73 for people born 1951 to 1958. Take the year's RMD first: an RMD can never be rolled over, and a rolled one is an excess contribution, taxed 6% a year (26 U.S.C. 408(d)(3)(E)).
- Leaving a job at 55 to 59 1/2: 401(k) money paid from the plan after you leave at 55 or later avoids the 10% additional tax. That exception is lost once the money sits in an IRA (26 U.S.C. 72(t)(2)(A)(v)). Public safety workers lose the age-50 or 25-years-of-service exception the same way (72(t)(10)).
- Roth 401(k) money: it can go only to a Roth IRA, so it needs a Roth gold IRA.
- Hardship distributions: they cannot be rolled over at all.
7 Questions to Ask a Gold IRA Rollover Company Before You Sign#
Before you sign with a gold IRA rollover company, ask 7 questions and get every answer in writing. They cover who receives the money, the price, the cancel clock, the delivery time, the no-buy fee, the company's powers and the contract.
The 7 questions are listed below in the order you meet them.
- Ask which custodian receives the money, and get the payee line in writing.
- Ask for the price per coin, its percent over spot, and whether IRA orders carry a higher spread than cash orders.
- Ask when the cancel clock starts, how long it runs and whether it covers bullion; ask for it to start when the custodian receives the money.
- Ask how many days pass from funding to metal in the vault, and where the contract says so.
- Ask what you owe if the money arrives and you decide not to buy.
- Ask whether the company will be your IRA's designated representative, and what that lets it do.
- Ask for the customer agreement and the custodian's fee schedule (its price list) before you sign, and what the company would pay for the coins tomorrow.
These 7 come from our checklist on how to choose a gold IRA company; all 12 questions are in how to choose a gold IRA company.
The 6 stop signs below should end the call before any money moves.
- "IRS-approved" coins or depositories: the IRS approves neither.
- "Move everything into gold": the CFTC lists "Putting all your retirement savings in precious metals is safe and secure" as a lie (CFTC, 2024).
- Fear that your 401(k) will be "frozen or seized": a reason to slow down.
- A check made payable to the company: the payee is the custodian.
- A 60-day check when a direct rollover is available: it risks the 20% withholding.
- A "guaranteed buyback": the American Hartford Gold, Lear, Preserve, Goldline and American Bullion agreements say the law prohibits guaranteeing repurchase, and Augusta's FAQ says it "cannot legally guarantee" it.
Whether your IRA or 401(k) can be frozen or seized is answered in can your IRA or 401(k) be frozen or seized.
The CFTC's "10 Things" advice (2024) backs questions 2 and 7. It says to get fees and price "in writing BEFORE signing," and to ask "how much you would receive if you had to sell back the metal tomorrow" (CFTC). That number is the buyback bid, the price a dealer pays to take the metal back.
Once you have dated, written answers from two or three gold IRA companies, compare them line by line in the gold IRA company comparison tool.
Gold IRA Rollover Companies vs Doing the Rollover Yourself#
A gold IRA rollover company arranges paperwork you can also do yourself. The custodian, not the company, requests the money, and any dealer your custodian accepts can sell it IRA-eligible bullion. Picking the custodian comes first when you go direct, so start with our best gold IRA custodians.
What does a gold IRA rollover company do that you could do yourself?#
Almost everything: the custodian requests the money, you choose the metal, and any dealer your custodian accepts can sell it; the company mainly sells you the coins. The 4 tasks, and who really does each, are listed below.
- Opening the self-directed IRA: the custodian's application ($50 setup on Equity Trust's metals-only schedule, Rev. 081726).
- Requesting the money: the new custodian sends a transfer request or letter of acceptance to the old provider.
- Choosing and buying the metal: you direct the custodian to pay a dealer you pick, for bullion IRA-eligible under 26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3).
- Arranging storage: you pick a vault from the custodian's depository list.
The 60-day route is the one to avoid. A check paid to you must be deposited by the 60th day after you receive it (26 U.S.C. 408(d)(3)(A)). Under the same-property rule, an IRA rollover must return the same property (Lemishow, 110 T.C. 110, 1998; Estate of Caan, 161 T.C. No. 6, 2023). So you cannot take cash out and put coins back. If you ever take a check yourself, count the days with the 60-day rollover rule.
When the 60th day falls on a weekend or holiday, the rollover deadline moves to the next business day (26 U.S.C. 7503). The rollover deadline calculator does that count for you.
Best gold IRA rollover companies: frequently asked questions#
The 8 questions below are the ones people ask most about gold IRA rollover companies, answered in short.
Who has the best rollover IRA account?#
For gold, the best rollover IRA is a self-directed IRA at a low-fee custodian. Its 10-year cost at $100,000 runs from $2,410 to $6,910 on published 2026 schedules. The low end is GoldStar with commingled storage (your coins kept with others' coins of the same type), the high end Madison Trust, exit fees included and spread left out. A brokerage "rollover IRA" for stocks is a different product.
Which gold IRA company has the best reviews?#
Star ratings do not separate them: the 10 large sellers we checked all hold a BBB A+ and score 4.4 to 5.0 on Trustpilot (September 29, 2026). Complaints differ more, from 0 to 22.1 per 100 BBB reviews, with Lear Capital highest. The math behind BBB grades and Trustpilot ratings is in are BBB, BCA and Trustpilot ratings reliable.
Should I roll my 401(k) into a gold IRA?#
Only part of it, and only if you accept that gold pays no income and must rise to cover the spread and fees. This is general information, not advice on your account. No sourced rule sets how much to move; the "5-10%" figures on ranking pages cite none. Lear Capital's own terms (December 2025) say no more than 20% of available investment funds. In a SafeOunce illustration, $300,000 moved at a 64% markup loses about $117,073 on day one; moving 20% would lose about $23,415. The CFTC lists "Putting all your retirement savings in precious metals is safe and secure" as a lie (2024). The break-even math is in the downside answer below; what you give up by leaving the plan is in gold IRA vs 401(k).
Can I roll my 401(k) over into gold?#
Yes, once your plan allows a payout, usually when you leave the job or reach 59 1/2. The money moves by direct rollover to an IRA that buys IRA-eligible gold. Coins cannot sit inside the 401(k) itself: under 26 U.S.C. 408(m)(1), metal bought in an individually directed plan account counts as a payout to you. How to roll over a 401(k) to a gold IRA without the 20% hit is set out step by step.
How long does a gold IRA rollover take?#
Plan on about 2 to 6 weeks for the money to reach the new custodian (SafeOunce estimate). Delivery to the vault then takes up to 28 days in 2 published contracts, or 4 to 8 weeks in a third. Company pages quote faster times, but only a contract binds the company.
Is a gold IRA rollover tax-free?#
A direct rollover or transfer is not taxed when it happens; withdrawals from a traditional gold IRA are later taxed as ordinary income, and only qualified Roth withdrawals are tax-free. Growth inside the IRA is tax-deferred: taxed later, not never. The 28% collectibles rate applies only to gold held outside an IRA (IRS Topic 409).
What is the downside of a gold IRA?#
The biggest downside is cost: the spread, fixed yearly fees and the buyback gap mean gold must rise before you break even, and it pays no income. At a 5% spread, gold needs a 10.4% rise, and at 19.99% it needs 31.1%, counting the buyback gap. Each downside is weighed by situation in the real downsides of a gold IRA.
Why does Dave Ramsey say not to invest in gold?#
The usual case against gold is growth: over 1971-2025, gold returned 9.0% a year against 11.1% for the S&P 500 with dividends. Both are compound yearly returns: gold on the LBMA PM year-end price, the S&P 500 as total return. We have not verified a direct Dave Ramsey statement, so we do not quote him. Their full case is in why Dave Ramsey and Warren Buffett say no to gold.