Gold for Pensions

In August 2014 the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) added physical gold bullion to its list of standard assets. This means that financial advisers can now assist clients wanting to include physical gold in their pension through regulated pension schemes such as a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) or Small Self-Administered Schemes (SSAS).

If you are a UK citizen looking to enhance your SIPP or SSAS, you may be able to benefit from up to 45% tax relief on your purchase of gold Royal Mint Refinery (RMR) bars if you buy them through your pension scheme.

To do this, Royal Mint Bullion offers both private individuals and pension scheme providers access to an online account solution through which they can manage gold held within pension schemes.

Using the account is simple as only eligible products are available to purchase. All gold is then automatically stored in The Royal Mint’s Vault. Using our 24/7 'Buy Back' Facility, account holders can sell part or all of their gold holding at any time and the money will remain in their Royal Mint Bullion account until they wish their funds to be returned to their pension fund.

So, for private individuals or small private scheme holders, a Royal Mint Bullion account provides flexibility and liquidity, offering the ability to buy and sell physical gold bullion at competitive premiums determined by live gold prices.

Additionally, for pension providers, the account provides complete control and transparency of clients’ accounts, transactions and transfers.

Eligible Royal Mint gold bullion

For gold bullion to be eligible to be held in a pension scheme it must be in a form acceptable to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), currently defined as bar or wafer with the purity of no less than 99.5% which is professionally stored.

Our RMR branded bars exceed the requirements as each serialised bar is 999.9 fine gold. These are available for both SIPP and SSAS customers in sizes of either 100 g or 1 kg for storage in The Royal Mint Vault.

For those looking for more flexibility, Signature Gold is one of the most cost-efficient ways to buy physical gold bullion from The Royal Mint. Signature Gold offers the opportunity to buy and own fractions of large, 400 oz. gold bars which are stored in The Vault and is bought by monetary value rather than a fixed weight. It is a flexible option as it offers the opportunity to convert a specific amount of your pension fund into gold, rather than the fixed sizes offered by RMR bars.

Royal Mint Bullion fees

At Royal Mint Bullion we offer a transparent fee structure with no hidden charges and no minimum monthly fee. As well as the initial purchase premium of the product, storage fees are also charged for storage of the product in The Vault. Equally, a ‘sell-back’ premium is also charged when you choose to sell the product back to The Royal Mint. These charges are detailed below.

Opening an account with Royal Mint Bullion

Firstly, check if your current SIPP pension scheme is able to include gold. If not, it may be possible to open a second SIPP that allows a gold holding. For SSAS holders please refer to your Pension Scheme Administrator for more information.

 

Creating the account

SIPP Account (Private individuals) – Download the Personal Account Application Form , complete and submit to your pension provider. SSAS Account – Download the SSAS Account Application Form and submit it directly to us for review. Pension providers – please contact our customer service team for further information.

 

Funding the account

SIPP Account (Private individuals) – Instruct the pension provider to transfer funds from the pension scheme into The Royal Mint account. Once funds are transferred, you can purchase gold online. SSAS Account – The SSAS Administrator will transfer funds into The Royal Mint account. Once funds are transferred, you can purchase gold online. Pension providers – on receipt of instructions from the individual, you may transfer the agreed funds into the individual’s www.royalmint.com account.

 

Trading

SIPP Account (Private individuals) - Log in to your www.royalmint.com account to purchase eligible gold Bullion. SSAS Account - Log in to your www.royalmint.com account to purchase eligible gold Bullion.

 

Selling

SIPP Account (Private individuals) - Log in to your Royal Mint Bullion account, see the live gold price and decide just how much you would like to sell. Funds are transferred back into your account for future purchases or until you ask your pension provider to return the funds to the SIPP pension fund. SSAS Account - Log in to your Royal Mint Bullion account, see the live gold price and decide just how much you would like to sell. Funds are transferred back into your account for future purchases or until your SSAS Administrator requests for the funds to be withdrawn back to the SSAS. Pension providers – withdraw funds from The Royal Mint account and transfer back into the pension fund when requested to do so.