In the face of rising inflation, more investors are looking into gold-backed IRAs as a way to protect their savings. A gold-backed IRA is a type of individual retirement account in which you can hold a percentage of physical, allocated or unallocated gold. 

Many people know that gold has value, but gold IRAs are an underutilized form of tax-deferred retirement account. 

Investing in gold IRAs is one way to invest in gold, particularly when it comes to long term financial planning. Of course, no investment is perfect, and gold IRAs have pros and cons. Here are some things to consider before investing in a gold IRA. 

The Pros of Gold-backed IRA

• If you take a closer look at the historical performance of gold, you’ll see that its value has been steady across the centuries. There has never been a time when gold was worthless, and when there is a currency crisis, gold will have value. 

• Gold is valuable all over the world. It has no political liability attached to it, and gold can be bought and sold in every major nation. In fact, every financial center has a gold trading market.
  
• Gold is inherently low-risk. While there have been many investment bubbles over the past few decades, gold’s rise in price has been slow and steady. Buying gold isn’t about getting rich, it is about never being poor. 

• Gold is a hedge against inflation. Central banks can’t print gold, but they can create loads of new money. When there is high inflation, the price of gold shoots up. There are many examples of this, like Argentina, or Venezuela. 

Disadvantages of Gold-backed IRA

• There are many different ways to buy gold in a gold IRA. Some forms, like unallocated gold funds, may not be as secure if there is ever a crisis. Unlike buying stock ETFs, buying gold for your IRA requires you to make more decisions, and choose how you will invest in a physical metal.
  
• Gold isn’t about making huge returns. Many people who invest in stocks want to make market-beating returns every year, and gold just isn’t going to do that. While gold isn’t ever going to be worthless, it isn’t the next hot growth stock. 

• Storing gold costs money. When you invest in a gold IRA, you have to account for storage fees. No matter if you use a registered depository, or store the gold yourself, you have to pay something to secure your investment. 

Gold-backed IRAs are easy to set up, but require more work than many other kinds of IRA saving plans. On the other hand, gold offers you advantages that no other kind of investment can. When there is high, or even hyperinflation, gold is often the only asset left standing. 

You don’t have to put all of your money into a gold IRA, but given the current economy, having some gold for your old age is a wise move. It has never been easier to add security to your retirement portfolio, and gold IRA give you loads of options to choose from.