Gold IRA Glossary
Plain-English definitions of the terms used across Gold IRA and precious-metals retirement research. Each entry links to the deeper guide or tool where the concept is explained in full. Educational only — not financial, tax, or legal advice.
Educational only: These definitions are general educational information, not financial, tax, or legal advice. Rules, fees, and products change; verify current details with a provider and a qualified professional before making decisions. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
- Self-Directed IRA
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An individual retirement account that lets the owner hold a wider range of assets than a typical brokerage IRA, including qualifying physical precious metals. A "Gold IRA" is a self-directed IRA holding qualifying metal under an approved trustee or custodian. The self-directed structure gives broader investment choice, not personal custody of the assets.
- Custodian (or Trustee)
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The bank or IRS-approved nonbank trustee that administers the IRA and holds legal responsibility for the account. Metal owned inside an IRA must remain in the custody of a bank or approved nonbank trustee; the account owner cannot take personal possession while the metal stays in the IRA. The custodian, the dealer, and the depository may be three different companies.
- Depository
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The secure vault facility where an IRA's physical metal is stored under the custody arrangement. In common industry language an "IRS-approved depository" means a vault used within an arrangement controlled by a qualifying bank, trustee, or custodian. The IRS approves trustees and custodians, not vault buildings as a standalone list.
- Segregated Storage
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A storage arrangement in which the specific bars or coins purchased for an account are held separately and identified as belonging to that account, so the same items are returned. It often carries a higher fee than commingled storage because of the extra handling and space required.
- Commingled (Non-Segregated) Storage
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A storage arrangement in which an account's metal is held alongside metal of the same type belonging to other customers, with the account entitled to an equivalent quantity rather than specific items. It is often less expensive than segregated storage.
- Spot Price
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The current reference market price of a precious metal for immediate delivery. It is a benchmark, not the price an investor pays or receives: a dealer generally sells above spot and buys back below spot.
- Dealer Spread (and Markup)
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The dealer markup is the amount a purchase price sits above spot; the buyback spread is the gap between the price a dealer charges to sell metal and the lower price it pays to buy it back. Each dealer sets its own. Together these mean a new purchase can begin below break-even even when the quoted spot price has not changed. The FINRA/CFTC precious-metals advisory recommends getting all fees, prices, and buyback terms in writing.
- In-Kind Distribution
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Taking metal out of the IRA as physical coins or bars rather than as cash. The fair market value of the metal distributed is generally the reportable distribution amount, so taking metal in kind does not avoid the tax that applies to a cash distribution.
- Required Minimum Distribution (RMD)
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The minimum amount that generally must be withdrawn each year from a traditional IRA once the owner reaches the applicable age (age 73 under current law, rising to 75 for people born on or after January 1, 1960). A traditional Gold IRA follows the same RMD rules as other traditional IRAs; a Roth IRA generally has no lifetime RMD for the original owner.
- Direct Rollover (vs Indirect)
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A direct rollover moves funds straight from a plan or IRA to the receiving account, generally with no federal tax withheld. In an indirect rollover the distribution is paid to the participant, and an eligible rollover distribution paid this way from an employer plan is generally subject to 20% mandatory withholding, which must be replaced from other funds to complete a full rollover within 60 days.
- IRA-Eligible Metals
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Coins and bullion that meet the IRS purity and product requirements to be held in an IRA. "IRA eligible" describes the product's eligibility; it does not grant the owner a right to keep the product personally, and qualifying bullion must remain in the physical possession of a bank or approved nonbank trustee.
- Non-Yielding Asset
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An asset that produces no regular cash income merely because it is owned. Physical gold pays no interest or dividend; its return comes only from a change in market price, after costs. This is different from a savings account, CD, or bond, which pay interest under contractual terms.
Reviewed and edited by Daniel M. — editor, 401kToGoldIRA.org. Definitions reflect the site's research methodology; report an error via the corrections policy.