A handful of checks before opening a Gold IRA can save real money and hassle later, and they’re all things you can verify directly with a prospective custodian rather than take on faith from marketing material.

Check the full fee schedule in writing — setup fee, annual custodian fee, and annual storage fee — and ask whether storage fees are flat or scale with account size; on a larger account, a percentage-based fee can end up costing more than a flat one. Check which depository holds the metal and whether it’s allocated (your specific pieces, segregated) or unallocated (pooled) storage, along with what insurance covers the holdings.

Check the custodian’s buyback policy — what happens when you want to sell metal back, how quickly funds are available, and whether there’s a spread between the buy and sell price. Check that any metal being recommended actually meets IRS purity requirements (99.5% for gold, with the American Gold Eagle as the named exception) — a dealer pushing “rare” or “premium” coins for an IRA is a red flag regardless of how the offer is framed.

None of this requires special expertise — it’s the same due diligence you’d apply to any financial account, just with a few extra IRA-specific details layered on.