A Gold IRA can be a sound part of a retirement plan, but the industry has a wide spread between trustworthy operators and high-pressure sales shops. The fastest way to tell them apart is to walk into the sales call with a written list of questions. The value is not just in asking them. It is in knowing what a good answer sounds like, and what should make you hang up.
Print this list. Ask every question. If a representative dodges any of them, walk away.
Questions About Fees (Get It in Writing)
Total annual costs at reputable providers usually land between $200 and $400 a year for custodian administration and storage combined, with setup fees typically in the $50 to $150 range. Numbers outside that band are not automatically wrong, but they need to be explained.
What to ask:
- “Can you email me the complete written fee schedule before I sign?”
- “What is the exact setup fee, annual custodian fee, and storage fee for an account my size?”
- “Are there any wire fees, transaction fees, or processing fees that are not on the main schedule?”
- “Do storage fees scale with account value, and at what threshold do they step up?”
Good answer: a clear PDF or web page with every line item, expressed in dollar amounts or a clear percentage, before any money moves.
Walk-away answer: vague ranges, “we will go over that later,” or fees that depend on which products you buy.
The Premium Question That Reveals Everything
This is the single most useful question you can ask, and most buyers never do. The dealer’s spread, the markup over the spot price of gold, is usually the largest single cost of a Gold IRA, and it is almost never on the standard fee schedule. The Securities and Exchange Commission has documented complaint cases where coin markups reached 130% over spot. That is not normal, but it is the reason the question matters.
What to ask:
- “What is my exact price per ounce, in dollars, over today’s spot price?”
- “Will you put that premium in writing before I fund the account?”
- “Is the same premium offered on every IRA-eligible bullion product, or only on certain coins?”
Good answer: a specific dollar figure or percentage premium that can be compared to the current LBMA gold price in real time. For standard IRA-eligible bullion coins like American Gold Eagles or American Gold Buffalos, single-digit to low double-digit percentage premiums are typical. For 1 oz bars, premiums are usually lower still.
Walk-away answer: “We do not quote premiums until after you fund the account,” or any push toward “exclusive,” “proof,” or “limited edition” coins with premiums two or three times higher than standard bullion.
Questions About Buy-Back and Liquidity
A Gold IRA is only as useful as your ability to convert it back to cash when you need to. Required minimum distributions begin at age 73 under the SECURE 2.0 Act, and many investors will sell metal each year to fund those distributions. A weak buy-back policy can quietly eat 5% to 10% on every sale.
What to ask:
- “Do you offer a written, guaranteed buy-back policy?”
- “What is the typical buy-back spread, in dollars per ounce, on the products you sell me?”
- “How long does a sale take from request to cash hitting the IRA?”
- “If you cannot or will not buy it back, which other dealers will?”
Good answer: a written buy-back commitment, a clear spread figure, and a willingness to name third-party dealers who will quote the same metal.
Walk-away answer: “We always buy it back at a fair price” with no number attached, or any suggestion that the products they sell are difficult to liquidate elsewhere.
Questions About Storage and Custody
The IRS requires Gold IRA metal to be stored in an approved depository, never at home. Reputable storage means a known, audited depository like Delaware Depository, Brink’s, or International Depository Services, with full insurance coverage.
What to ask:
- “Which depository will hold my metal, and where is the facility?”
- “Is my storage segregated or commingled, and what does each cost?”
- “Is the depository independently audited, and how often?”
- “What is the insurance coverage per account, and who is the insurer?”
Good answer: a named depository, a clear segregated-vs-commingled choice with disclosed pricing, and confirmation of routine third-party audits and named all-risk insurance.
Walk-away answer: any version of “we can store it for you privately” or a pitch for a “home storage Gold IRA,” which the IRS does not recognize for standard Gold IRA accounts.
Questions About Metal Eligibility
The IRS spells out which products qualify under IRC Section 408(m): generally bullion of 0.995 fineness or higher, plus specific listed coins like the American Gold Eagle. Reputable companies sell from that list. Aggressive sales shops push high-premium “collectible,” “proof,” or “numismatic” coins that may technically be IRA-eligible but carry markups that wreck your returns.
What to ask:
- “Is every product you are recommending standard IRA-eligible bullion?”
- “What is the premium difference between the coin you are recommending and a 1 oz American Gold Eagle or 1 oz bar?”
- “Why are you recommending this specific product over plain bullion?”
Good answer: a clean recommendation of standard bullion at a transparent premium, with the reasoning attached to fineness, liquidity, and cost rather than “exclusivity.”
Walk-away answer: any pitch that leans on scarcity, “government confiscation protection,” or coins priced 30% or more above spot.
Questions About the Custodian-Dealer Split
A Gold IRA has two separate companies: the IRS-approved custodian that legally holds the account, and the precious metals dealer that sells the metal. Some companies make this clear. Others blur the line, which makes fees and fiduciary duties harder to evaluate.
What to ask:
- “Are you the custodian, the dealer, or both?”
- “Which custodian will hold my account, and can I see their fee schedule directly?”
- “Am I free to use a different dealer with this custodian later?”
Good answer: a clear separation of roles, a named custodian you can verify independently, and confirmation that you are not locked into a single dealer.
Red-Flag Answers That Mean You Should Walk
Some patterns show up in nearly every problem case. Treat any of these as a signal to end the conversation and look elsewhere.
- A hard deadline or “today only” pricing on a retirement decision
- Pressure to roll over a 401(k) immediately, before you have read the fee schedule
- Refusal to put premium pricing in writing
- Heavy emphasis on “exclusive,” “proof,” or numismatic coins
- Claims that gold will only go up, or guarantees about future returns
- Scripted urgency around “the coming dollar collapse” or similar fear-based framing
- An unwillingness to name the custodian or depository
A Gold IRA is a long-term decision. No legitimate company needs you to make it in one phone call.
Before You Get on the Call, Know the Shortlist
These questions work best when you already know which companies can take an account your size. Our comparison of the major gold IRA companies by minimum, fees and best fit sets out what each one requires and charges, and if your shortlist has come down to two names, the Augusta versus Goldco head-to-head covers the tiebreakers.
What This Means for You
The Gold IRA decision is not really about gold. It is about who you are signing a multi-year, fee-bearing contract with. The questions above turn an opaque sales pitch into a comparable spec sheet. If two companies both answer cleanly, you can choose on price and service. If one company answers cleanly and the other does not, the choice is already made.
Bring the list to the call. Take notes. Ask for everything in writing. And give yourself permission to hang up.
