Beneficiaries and Inheriting a Metals IRA
A precious metals IRA passes to whoever is named on the custodian's beneficiary designation form, not to whoever is named in your will. A surviving spouse usually has the most flexibility, including treating the account as their own. Most other beneficiaries can keep the metal in an inherited IRA but generally must empty it within 10 years under rules added by the SECURE Act.
Naming Beneficiaries on a Metals Account
When you open a self-directed IRA, the custodian asks you to name primary and contingent beneficiaries. That form controls who inherits. It overrides a will, so keeping it current after marriage, divorce, births or deaths matters. The IRS page on retirement topics for beneficiaries explains how designations are treated.
Practical tips:
- Name contingent beneficiaries in case a primary beneficiary dies first.
- Use full legal names and percentages that add up to 100%.
- Keep a copy and confirm the custodian has it on file, especially after a transfer to a new custodian. Designations do not automatically carry over.
- Tell your beneficiaries which custodian holds the account and which depository stores the metal.
Naming a trust or an estate as beneficiary is possible but changes how distribution rules apply. That is a question for an estate attorney. Our page on gold and estate planning covers the broader picture.
Options for a Surviving Spouse
According to the IRS, a spouse who is the sole beneficiary generally can:
- Treat the IRA as their own, which makes them the owner for all purposes, including future RMDs based on their own situation.
- Roll it over into their own IRA, which can be a self-directed IRA that keeps holding the metal.
- Remain a beneficiary of an inherited IRA, which can be useful if the spouse is under the IRS-defined age and wants access to funds without the early distribution tax.
With metals, any of these can usually be done in kind, so the same coins and bars move to the new account without being sold.
Which option fits depends on the spouse's own timeline. Treating the account as their own means future required minimum distributions follow the spouse's situation, while remaining a beneficiary can keep access open without the early distribution tax. A spouse who already has a metals IRA can often consolidate the inherited metal into it, which may reduce duplicate custodian and storage fees.
Non-Spouse Beneficiaries and the 10-Year Rule
For account owners who died in 2020 or later, the SECURE Act generally requires most non-spouse designated beneficiaries to withdraw the entire inherited account by the end of the 10th year after the year of death. In some situations, annual distributions are also required during those 10 years. The IRS beneficiary page explains when that applies, and the details have been refined through IRS guidance, so check the current rules.
Certain "eligible designated beneficiaries" can still stretch distributions over their life expectancy. Under IRS rules these include a surviving spouse, the owner's minor child (until reaching majority), disabled or chronically ill individuals, and some beneficiaries close in age to the owner.
Keeping the Metal in an Inherited Account
A beneficiary can often keep gold or silver inside an inherited IRA, held by a self-directed custodian in the deceased owner's name for the beneficiary's benefit. Steps typically include:
- Providing a death certificate and identification to the custodian.
- Opening an inherited IRA. A non-spouse beneficiary must use a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer; a 60-day rollover is not allowed for non-spouse beneficiaries.
- Moving the metal in kind or selling it and moving cash.
- Planning distributions within the required timeframe.
Our rollover section covers this in more detail at inherited IRAs and precious metals.
Taxes for Heirs
Distributions from an inherited traditional IRA are generally taxable income to the beneficiary but are not subject to the additional 10% early distribution tax. Inherited Roth distributions are generally tax-free if the five-year rule was met. Metal taken out in kind is valued at fair market value on the distribution date, as described in in-kind distributions. IRA assets do not get a stepped-up basis at death the way assets held outside an IRA may.
Helping Heirs Handle Physical Metal
Inherited metals can be unfamiliar, and heirs may not know how bullion is priced or what a dealer will pay. Pointing them to plain-language material, such as our guide on how precious metals buybacks work, can help them avoid selling in a hurry. Leaving a short written note with your records, listing the custodian, depository and the type of storage, can help. Goldco, a precious metals company, says IRA metals it sells go to an independent insured depository, and it advertises a buyback program for IRA-approved coins; heirs should review the written terms. See Goldco storage and custodians.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my will control who gets my metals account?
No. The beneficiary designation on file with the custodian controls. If none is on file, the custodial agreement's default applies, often your estate.
Can a beneficiary take the gold coins home?
Yes, as an in-kind distribution. The value is generally taxable for an inherited traditional IRA.
Can my children split the metals?
Yes. Custodians can divide an IRA into separate inherited accounts by the percentages on the designation form, either in kind or in cash.