Gold for Pensions lets you add physical gold bullion bars and DigiGold to either a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) or a Small Self-Administered Scheme (SSAS). Only gold in these two formats is allowed, and the bullion must be investment grade, with purity of at least 995 thousandths. It is held strictly for investment, so the pension member must not access or use it physically. Within one Gold for Pensions account you can choose separate allocations of individual bullion bars, DigiGold, or a combination of both, buying or selling at premiums linked to live prices from the same platform.
Expert behind this article
Thomas Goldfreburg
Thomas Goldfreburg is a gold investment advisor, author and founder of Goldfreed. Thomas's expertise is built on an academic foundation of a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Stanford University and complemented by market experience. Thomas specializes in gold IRA, ETF, 401k, and physical gold investments.
What is Gold for Pension?
Gold for Pension allows adding physical gold to a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) and enables investment into gold bullion bars and/or DigiGold. Gold for Pensions gives the ability to buy and sell physical gold bullion and/or DigiGold. Bespoke pension products are based on the long-term protection offered by gold and silver.
A gold pension builds guaranteed retirement security around the tangible asset of gold. Defined benefit plans are referred to as gold plated pensions because they provide guaranteed income for the rest of your life, while the more recent Gold for Pensions model converts part of that income into physical gold bars. The bullion is stored in a bonded, LBMA approved vault to the order of the trustees, its purity of not less than 995 thousandths meets investment-grade standards and attracts tax relief of up to 45% for higher-rate taxpayers. Scheme members own the gold, yet they have no personal access to it. Their provider acts as trustee and handles administration.
Gold is now a literal and figurative certainty inside Irish and U.K. structures. A Small Self Administered Scheme (SSAS) houses gold, and a Gold SIPP keeps profits free from capital-gains tax. Although bullion remains unregulated by FCA and is not protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, vaulted bars stabilize future value, acting as insurance for the wider portfolio. By selling DigiGold or exchanging part of a defined benefit plan into allocated bars, you accumulate secured metal that tracks bullion market weight and builds up your own golden pension, combining the certainty of guaranteed, index linked income with the permanence of physical gold.
A gold pension is a type of financial coverage that links retirement reserves directly to physical precious metal. I view it as an asset that preserves its buying power during economic uncertainty and heavy rising prices. Unlike a conventional retirement fund, it is not a promise from an organization nor a claim on paper securities. Instead, it is an individual store of value that I physically keep. By reallocating part of my retirement reserves this way, I am constructing a foundation focused on principal protection, not on the pursuit of growth. The attraction lies in the deep sense of safety it offers, providing an important counterweight to the possible reduction of money and to the dangers inherent in the capital securities industry.
Thomas GoldfreburgInvestor at Goldfreed
Can you invest your pension in gold?
Yes, you can invest your pension in gold. Gold is used in a self-invested pension by clients who are looking to diversify their investment portfolio. In Ireland you can hold physical gold as part of your Irish pension without VAT, provided it is investment-grade gold defined as gold with a purity of at least 995 thousandths or 99.5 % in the form of a bar or coin whose weight is recognised by the bullion markets. Irish pension funds buy, store, and sell bullion.
In the United Kingdom a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) holds, manages, and sells physical gold bullion since 2006, and your SSAS holds physical gold bullion within your provider's pension scheme. Gold bullion is eligible for a SIPP investment if it meets LBMA standards and is stored in a secure and LBMA-approved depository. BullionVault gold meets the criteria for SIPP investments. SIPPs allow you to choose your own investment, have no capital gains tax and no UK income tax to pay depending on your circumstances, and investors can claim tax relief on contributions. The UK Government will pay up to 45% of the cost of your gold.
US investors cannot invest in physical gold via 401(k)s or regular individual retirement accounts (IRAs). It is only possible through a self-directed IRA. A Self-Directed IRA (SDIRA) for US investors holds gold, silver, platinum and palladium produced by an approved mint or refiner and meeting IRS fineness standards, but collector coins, jewellery and privately minted pieces do not qualify. Physical gold is held as bullion coins or gold bars, and Self-directed IRAs permit the purchase of other precious metals that meet IRS fineness standards. You open a new SIPP purely for this purpose if needed.
Gold is used to hedge against inflation and as insurance for your portfolio, but gold is not regulated by the FCA and is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
When I first discovered the option of incorporating precious metal in my retirement funds, I was instantly interested. I started by investigating a Self-Directed IRA, which would permit me to have tangible precious metal ingots. The notion of holding a physical asset held substantial attractiveness, so I chose to allot a small part of my retirement fund to precious metal. I was precise in choosing IRS-approved precious metal dollars, and the tranquility of the psyche I obtained was considerable.
Thomas GoldfreburgInvestor at Goldfreed
Should I invest in gold or pension for retirement?
Whether one must invest in gold or pension for retirement depends on the intended goal. Pension funds have long been a cornerstone of retirement planning because they promise steady, predictable income and are perceived as relatively safe. Traditional assets like stocks, bonds, pension funds and real estate are components of a retirement portfolio for the same reason: they deliver dividends or rent that retirees spend without selling principal.
Gold rarely correlates with stable growth and is a highly volatile asset. Its price moves independently of these assets, so gold often surges when equities fall, then lags when markets rise. Over the centuries gold has proven to be a reliable store of value, protecting wealth from inflation, government control and market instability. Gold acts as a hedge against inflation and market turbulence, reducing portfolio volatility and smoothing out returns.
Because gold offers protection but no income, financial experts suggest maintaining 5-10 % of a retirement portfolio in gold. This allocation enhances stability and resilience without undermining the core function of pensions and income-producing assets. Pensions remain the foundation for secure retirement cash-flow, while a modest gold holding is part of a broader diversification strategy to hedge against risk.
The decision between reallocating money to a conventional retirement fund scheme and investing in physical precious metal rests on two contrasting promises. My retirement benefit provided an organized foreseeable route, employer donations, and stable return flow. I maximized donations to the retirement fund scheme to guarantee foundational earnings. I allotted part of my reserves to gold because of the attractiveness of precious metal as a safe-haven strength and palpable quality. I look at precious metal as a strategic protection against market downswings and rising prices. This diversification offers me with better tranquility of the psyche for I was worried about exposure to economic changes and absence of regulation.
Thomas GoldfreburgInvestor at Goldfreed
What is a gold class pension?
A gold-class pension is not a single product but a shorthand for arrangements that give the saver the highest combination of security, flexibility and tax advantage. Defined benefit plans are referred to as gold-plated pensions. Gold-plated pensions provide a guaranteed, index-linked income in retirement.
At the core of a gold-class pension sits either a defined-benefit scheme that provides a guaranteed, index-linked income for the rest of life, or a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) that allows the member to choose and manage investments within a UK government-approved personal pension framework. Around this core, gold-class status is earned by adding physical investment-grade gold that meets required purity and form of 99.99 % purity from LBMA-accredited Good Delivery refineries. The bars are stored in Sharps Pixley's purpose-built state-of-the-art high-security vaulting in Central London, insured through Lloyds of London, giving world-class protection against theft, fire and damage. Contributions attract tax relief up to 45% for higher-rate payers, while the Pension Commencement Lump Sum is available tax-free at normal minimum pensionage, currently 55 years (rising to 57 from April 2028), subject to the maximum Lump Sum Allowance of 268,275 for the 2025/26 tax year. Because gold bars are exempt from VAT and free from capital-gains tax, and because the holdings have no maximum limit, the structure delivers stability to other investments, reduces overall volatility and contributes to long-term growth.
How to buy gold in pension?
The best gold pension scheme is a SIPP that treats bullion as a permitted investment. Gold for Pensions provides gold for SIPP investment through a four-step buying process: consultation, creation of a purchase order, payment and storage. You can open a new SIPP and begin contributing directly or you can transfer an existing pension to a new SIPP. Once the SIPP is in place, the trustees arrange purchase through a UK based direct gold investments service. Gold must be in the form of investment-grade bars with a purity not less than 995 thousandths and of weight acceptable by the bullion markets. BullionVault is the only place where you can buy or sell gold 24/7 and is often chosen for execution, while storage remains inside the approved vault. Gold bullion storage fees must be paid with cash from your pension. If you prefer smaller tickets, the Royal Mint's DigiGold platform allows you to buy and sell gold by value rather than weight 24/7, 365 days a year with a minimum investment of 25. Gold for Pensions account gives you the ability to buy and sell DigiGold at competitive premiums determined by live gold prices. Due diligence checks must be carried out by the client's financial adviser and by InvestAcc before any instructions are issued to the gold bullion dealer.
My trip into incorporating precious metal into my retirement fund started with complete investigation. I devoted a substantial period to comprehending the other techniques usable and examined the expenses, warehousing needs, and fungibility of each alternative. I determined that a self-invested retirement fund that permitted assets in a respected precious metal exchange-traded saving was the right course for my conditions, because this way provided variegation without the intricacies of physical warehousing. I chose my distributor, undertook a transaction of money from a prevailing retirement fund into my recently created SIPP, and was able to order the particular precious metal ETF I selected. The deal was done expeditiously, and the components were contributed to my retirement fund portfolio. I acknowledged that this was a long-term pledge for my retirement protection.
Thomas GoldfreburgInvestor at Goldfreed