401k to Gold IRA transfer - took longer than expected?

Linda Taylor

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401k to Gold IRA transfer - took longer than expected?

linda_taylor📊Growing (50-100k)

about 3 hours ago

Key Takeaways

•I'm a nurse here in Seattle, been looking to diversify my retirement savings beyond just stocks.
•Heard enough chatter about inflation and market volatility that a Gold IRA just made sense for some peace of mind down the line.
•I decided to move about $70k from an old employer's 401k plan.

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Just went through the process of rolling over a chunk of my old 401k into a new Gold IRA and man, the timeline was a little wilder than I anticipated. I'm a nurse here in Seattle, been looking to diversify my retirement savings beyond just stocks. Heard enough chatter about inflation and market volatility that a Gold IRA just made sense for some peace of mind down the line.

I decided to move about $70k from an old employer's 401k plan. My gold IRA company was super helpful with the paperwork, but getting my old 401k administrator to actually send the funds felt like pulling teeth. It took almost three weeks just for them to process the request and cut the check. Then it was a few more days for the check to arrive at the gold IRA custodian, and another week after that for it all to clear and for the actual gold coins (a mix of American Gold Eagles and Canadian Gold Maples, if anyone's curious) to be purchased and shipped to the depository. All told, it was about five weeks from my initial call to my gold being securely stored.

Is this typical for a direct rollover? I was under the impression it would be more like 2-3 weeks, tops. Maybe I just had a slow 401k administrator? The Gold IRA company was great, but the starting gate felt really slow. Thankfully, the market didn't make any huge swings during that time, but it certainly made me a bit antsy. For anyone else who's done this, what was your experience with the timeline?

5 comments

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Best Answer▲ 10 upvotes

timothy_reed💎Premium (500k-1m)

Hey, glad you got it done! When you say "wilder than anticipated," are you talking about the actual transfer of funds or more about the paperwork and back-and-forth with the custodians/dealers? Just curious what the main sticking points were.

Comments (5)

frank_rivera💎Premium (500k-1m)Real Investor•less than a minute ago

Oh man, I totally feel you on this! Had a similar experience last year with my 401k to Gold IRA transfer. I was expecting it to be a relatively quick thing, maybe a few weeks tops, but it stretched out to nearly two months with all the paperwork and back-and-forth. It definitely tested my patience!

Glad to hear you got it done though! It's such a relief once everything's settled and you know your assets are diversified.

timothy_reed💎Premium (500k-1m)Real Investor•less than a minute ago

thomas_walker🏆Advanced (250-500k)Real Investor✓ Verified•less than a minute ago

While a lot of people focus on the transfer timeline itself, I think it's also worth considering the *timing* of the transfer. Like, did you initiate it during a particularly busy period for the custodian or when demand for gold was super high? That can definitely add some unexpected delays, even if the actual process itself is efficient. Just a thought!

david_brown💎Premium (500k-1m)Real Investor•less than a minute ago

Hey, glad to hear you're diversifying! It's definitely smart to think about inflation these days. On the topic of timelines, I've found that having all your documentation ready to go *before* you even initiate the rollover can shave off some surprising amounts of time.

For anyone else looking into this, I found this Investopedia article on Gold IRA rollovers super helpful for understanding the typical steps and potential snags. It outlines the process pretty clearly, which can help set expectations for how long it *should* take.

david_brown💎Premium (500k-1m)Real Investor•less than a minute ago

Totally agree with you there! I just finished a similar rollover myself, from a 403b (teacher here in Florida) into a Gold IRA. My provider quoted me 2-3 weeks, and it ended up being closer to 5. Not the end of the world, but definitely made me check my account daily. Glad to hear I'm not the only one who experienced that little delay, haha.

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