Gold LIRA: How to Hold Gold in a Locked-in Retirement Account

Last reviewed: 31 October 2026. Dollar thresholds are for 2026 and change each January with the Year’s Maximum Pensionable Earnings (YMPE).

If you left a job with a pension, some of that money may now sit in a locked-in retirement account (LIRA). A self-directed LIRA can hold qualifying physical gold and silver.

This guide explains what a LIRA is, which rules apply to yours, where locked-in money can and cannot go, which bullion qualifies, how the metal is held, the costs to ask about and the risks.

What a LIRA is

A locked-in retirement account (LIRA) is an RRSP with extra restrictions. It holds money you moved out of an employer’s registered pension plan, usually after leaving the job.

“Gold LIRA” is a marketing name, not a separate account type. It means a self-directed LIRA whose trustee lets it hold gold and silver bullion that meets the RRSP qualified-investment rules.

The money stays locked in. You cannot withdraw it as cash except under specific unlocking rules. To draw income in retirement, you move it to a life income fund (LIF) or buy a life annuity.

	Standard LIRA	Self-directed LIRA with bullion
Gold exposure	Only if you choose gold ETFs or mining shares.	Can hold qualifying gold and silver bars, coins and certificates, as well as other investments.
Management	Often managed by a financial institution or fund manager.	You choose what the plan buys and sells, within the trustee’s rules.
Access to cash	Locked in. Money comes out only under unlocking rules or as income after moving to a LIF or annuity.	The same. Selling metal inside the account does not unlock it.
Tax	Gains are not taxed while they stay in the plan. Payments out are taxed as income.	The same.

Which rules apply to your LIRA

The unlocking and income rules depend on the pension law that governed your original pension plan, not on where you live now. Your LIRA contract or statement says which law applies.

Federal: federally regulated plans fall under the Pension Benefits Standards Act, 1985. The account is called a locked-in RRSP. Its rules are in the Pension Benefits Standards Regulations, 1985, and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) explains the unlocking options.
Ontario: plans registered in Ontario fall under the Pension Benefits Act. Its Regulation 909 sets the rules for LIRAs and life income funds.
Other provinces: they have their own rules, which this guide does not cover. Check with the pension regulator for the law named in your LIRA contract.

The rest of this guide gives the federal and Ontario rules as they stand in 2026.

Where locked-in money can and cannot move

LIRA money stays locked in when it moves. Under Ontario’s rules, a LIRA can be transferred only to another LIRA, a life income fund (LIF) or a registered pension plan, or used to buy a life annuity. Federally regulated locked-in RRSPs have the same kind of limits: another locked-in RRSP, a pension plan that accepts the transfer, a life annuity, a LIF or a restricted life income fund (RLIF).

Destination	Allowed?
Another LIRA (federal: locked-in RRSP) under the same pension law	Yes. The receiving trustee must agree to keep the lock-in terms.
Life income fund (LIF), or a federal restricted life income fund (RLIF)	Yes. One of the two ways to draw income.
Life annuity	Yes. The other way to draw income.
Registered pension plan	Yes, if the plan accepts the transfer.
Ordinary RRSP or RRIF	Only under an unlocking rule.
Cash paid to you	Only under an unlocking rule. Taxed as income.
TFSA	No. It is not on the list of permitted destinations.

Money moves to an ordinary RRSP or RRIF only under one of the unlocking rules described below. Selling gold inside the LIRA does not change this: the cash from a sale stays in the account and remains locked in.

Withdrawals, income and age 71

You cannot make ordinary withdrawals from a LIRA. To draw retirement income, you transfer it to a life income fund (LIF) or buy a life annuity. Because a LIRA is an RRSP, you must do one of these by the end of the year you turn 71.

A LIF is a RRIF with lock-in terms, so it must pay at least the RRIF minimum each year. The Income Tax Regulations set the rate: 1 divided by (90 minus your age at the start of the year) before 71, then 5.28% at 71, 6.82% at 80 and 20% from age 95. Under federal and Ontario rules, a LIF also has a yearly maximum. Payments are taxed as income.

If the LIF holds only metal, some may have to be sold to make the minimum payment. Ask the trustee how it handles this before the plan buys.

When locked-in money can be unlocked

Only in specific cases, and the rules depend on the pension law that governed your original plan. Two examples, current for 2026, when the YMPE is $74,600.

Federal: locked-in RRSPs from federally regulated plans

Financial hardship: withdrawals of up to $37,300 a year (50% of the YMPE). The amount depends on your expected income for the year, falling to nothing once expected income reaches $55,950 (75% of the YMPE), or on expected medical or disability costs.
Non-residency: full withdrawal after you have been non-resident for at least two calendar years.
Shortened life expectancy: full withdrawal if a doctor certifies it.
One-time 50% unlocking: at 55 or older, a transfer of up to 50% from a new restricted life income fund to an RRSP or RRIF, within 60 days of setting it up.
Small balance: at 55 or older, full withdrawal if all your federal locked-in accounts total $37,300 or less.

Hardship, 50% and small-balance unlocking need your spouse’s or common-law partner’s written consent, if you have one.

Ontario: LIRAs from Ontario-registered plans

Small balance: at 55 or older, full withdrawal or a transfer to an RRSP or RRIF if all your locked-in accounts total less than 40% of the YMPE ($29,840 in 2026).
Non-residency: full withdrawal if the CRA has determined in writing that you are non-resident and at least 24 months have passed since you left Canada.
Shortened life expectancy: withdrawal of all or part if an illness or disability is likely to shorten your life expectancy to less than two years.
Financial hardship: withdrawals for medical costs, rent arrears or a mortgage default that could lead to eviction, first and last month’s rent, or low income (expected income over the next 12 months of no more than two thirds of the YMPE, about $49,733 in 2026). One application per type per calendar year, and at least $500 each time.
50% unlocking: up to 50% of the amount moved into a new Ontario life income fund can be withdrawn or moved to an RRSP or RRIF, if you apply within 60 days of the transfer.

Ontario unlocking applications generally need your spouse’s written consent, or a signed statement that you have no spouse or live separate and apart.

Other provinces have their own rules. Check with the pension regulator for the law that governs your LIRA. Unlocked amounts taken as cash are taxed as income.

Which gold and silver a LIRA can hold

Because a LIRA is an RRSP, it can hold only bullion that meets section 4900 of the Income Tax Regulations. These are the same rules as in an RRSP (see our gold RRSP guide).

Purity: gold at least 99.5% pure, silver at least 99.9%.
Coins: legal tender coins produced by the Royal Canadian Mint and worth no more than 110% of the value of their metal.
Bars and wafers: made by a refiner on the London Bullion Market Association’s Good Delivery list and stamped with the refiner’s hallmark, fineness and weight.
Seller: The plan buys coins directly from the Royal Canadian Mint, and bars directly from the refiner that made them. Either can also come from a bank, trust company, credit union, insurance corporation or registered securities dealer that is resident in Canada and supervised by the Superintendent of Financial Institutions or a similar provincial authority.
Certificates: issued by the Royal Canadian Mint or one of those regulated institutions, for metal that meets the coin or bar rules, and bought from the issuer or one of those institutions.
Platinum and palladium: bullion in these metals is not on the list.

If the plan acquires metal that fails these tests, you owe a tax of 50% of its value. The tax is charged to you, not to the trustee. It is refundable if the plan disposes of the metal by the end of the following year, unless you knew or ought to have known it did not qualify. You report it on CRA Form RC339 by June 30 of the following year.

Ask the trustee to confirm in writing that each product it offers for LIRAs meets section 4900.

How the metal is held

Bullion in a LIRA belongs to the plan and is held by the plan trustee or its custodian, usually in a commercial vault. The CRA says it would expect the plan trustee to exercise due diligence in using a custodial trustee for bullion. You cannot keep LIRA metal at home or in your own safe deposit box.

When comparing trustees, ask:

Which company stores the metal, and in which city?
Are your holdings segregated, or pooled with metal held for others?
Who insures the metal, and for how much?
How often are the holdings audited?
If you later move the LIRA, does the trustee transfer the metal itself or sell it and send cash?

How to move a LIRA into bullion, step by step

Step 1: Confirm which law governs your LIRA

Look at your LIRA contract or statement. It tells you whether federal law or a province’s law applies, and so which transfer and unlocking rules you are under.

Step 2: Find a trustee that holds bullion in LIRAs

Start by finding trust companies that offer self-directed LIRAs holding bullion. A trustee that offers bullion in RRSPs may not offer it in LIRAs, so ask. Compare them on published fees, storage arrangements and insurance.

Step 3: Open the account and request a direct transfer

Once you have chosen a trustee, open a self-directed LIRA with it under the same pension law as your current account, and ask it to request a direct transfer from your current LIRA. All or part of the account can move. The money goes from one institution to the other and never passes through your hands. The receiving trustee must agree to keep the lock-in terms.

Under Ontario’s rules, the sending institution must make the transfer within 30 days of your request, except for investments whose term runs past that period.

Step 4: Choose qualifying metal

Pick products that meet section 4900, set out above, and get the trustee’s written confirmation. The plan buys the metal through the trustee, and the metal stays in the trustee’s custody.

Can this coin or bar go in your LIRA?

Take these questions to the trustee before the plan buys:

Gold or silver, pure enough? Gold at least 99.5% pure, silver at least 99.9%. Platinum and palladium are not on the list.
Coin? A legal tender bullion coin produced by the Royal Canadian Mint, with a market value no more than 110% of the value of its metal.
Bar or wafer? Made by a refiner on the LBMA good delivery list for that metal, and stamped with the refiner’s hallmark, fineness and weight.
Seller? Bought by the plan from the Mint (coins) or the refiner that made it (bars), or from one of the regulated institutions listed above. Metal you already own fails this test.
Trustee? Does it hold bullion in LIRAs, and will it confirm in writing that this product meets section 4900?

SourceIncome Tax Regulations, section 4900(1), paragraphs (t) and (u), current to 19 October 2026. Checked 3 November 2026. These are questions for the trustee, not a ruling on any product. The trustee decides what it accepts.

Step 5: Plan for the income stage

By the end of the year you turn 71, the LIRA must become a LIF or buy an annuity. If the account holds mostly metal, ask how the trustee handles LIF minimum payments and what it charges to sell metal to make them.

Costs to ask about

Some institutions charge to set up or administer a self-directed LIRA that holds metal, and others charge transfer fees. Get the full fee schedule before you transfer. Ask about:

transfer-out fees at your current institution;
setup and annual administration fees;
storage and insurance fees, and whether they are a flat amount or a share of the metal’s value;
the premium over the spot price when the plan buys, and the spread when it sells;
fees to sell metal for LIF payments, or to move the account later.

What to weigh before you switch

	What can work for you	What can work against you
Price and inflation	Over very long periods gold has often kept pace with inflation, and it has tended to hold its value as currencies lost purchasing power.	It has also had falls that lasted years, and over shorter periods it can fall while prices rise.
Market downturns	Gold’s price has often moved differently from stocks, so it can soften some downturns. Demand for gold often rises in financial crises.	It does not do this reliably. Long and deep price falls have happened at other times, so gold is not a reliable anchor for a retirement account on its own.
Physical metal	A self-directed LIRA that holds bullion adds a physical asset to locked-in savings.	Gold pays no income, and trustee, storage and dealer costs apply.
Selling	The plan can sell metal through the trustee and a dealer, and reinvest the cash inside the LIRA.	The cash from a sale stays inside the LIRA and remains locked in. It does not reach your hands.
Tax	As with any RRSP, gains inside a LIRA are not taxed while they stay in the plan.	Tax applies when money is paid out, usually as LIF or annuity income. Metal that does not qualify triggers the 50% tax.

Gold’s price can swing widely. The iShares Gold Bullion ETF (CGL), a Canadian fund that holds physical gold, had a net asset value of $29.51 on 30 October 2026, the bottom of its 52-week range and about 29% below its 52-week high of $41.52, according to BlackRock Canada.

The bottom line

A self-directed LIRA that holds bullion is one way to add physical gold to locked-in pension savings. It adds trustee and storage costs, the money stays locked in, and gold’s price can fall as well as rise.

Both kinds of account hold the same locked-in money. Adding bullion changes the mix of assets, not the rules on getting money out.

Before you transfer, confirm which pension law governs your account, get every fee in writing, and check each product against section 4900. In a locked-in account you cannot take the money out if you change your mind, so a qualified adviser’s view is worth getting first.

Frequently asked questions about gold in a LIRA

Can a LIRA hold physical gold?

Yes, through a self-directed LIRA whose trustee accepts bullion. Because a LIRA is an RRSP, the metal must meet section 4900 of the Income Tax Regulations: gold at least 99.5% pure or silver at least 99.9%, legal tender bullion coins produced by the Royal Canadian Mint with a market value no more than 110% of their metal value, or bars from a refiner on the LBMA Good Delivery list for that metal and stamped with its hallmark, fineness and weight. The plan must buy coins directly from the Mint or a specified corporation, and bars directly from the refiner that made them or a specified corporation. The seller section above describes those corporations. A trustee that offers bullion in RRSPs may not offer it in LIRAs, so ask.

Can you hold physical gold in an RRSP?

Yes, through a self-directed RRSP whose trustee accepts bullion. The metal must meet section 4900 of the Income Tax Regulations: gold at least 99.5% pure or silver at least 99.9%, legal tender bullion coins produced by the Royal Canadian Mint with a market value no more than 110% of their metal value, or bars from a refiner on the LBMA Good Delivery list for that metal and stamped with its hallmark, fineness and weight. The plan must buy coins directly from the Mint or a specified corporation, and bars directly from the refiner that made them or a specified corporation. The seller section above describes those corporations.

Can you cash out a locked-in retirement account?

Only in specific cases, and the rules depend on the pension law that governed your original plan, not on where you live now. Federal and Ontario rules both allow unlocking for financial hardship, non-residency, shortened life expectancy and small balances at 55 or older, and up to 50% when money first moves into a new life income fund (federally, a restricted life income fund at 55 or older). Amounts and conditions differ. Unlocked amounts taken as cash are taxed as income.

Can you move a LIRA into an RRSP, RRIF or TFSA?

Not directly. Locked-in money can move only to another locked-in account, a life income fund, a registered pension plan or a life annuity. It reaches an ordinary RRSP or RRIF only under an unlocking rule, such as the small-balance or 50% rules.

Can you keep LIRA gold at home?

No. Bullion in a LIRA belongs to the plan and is held by the plan trustee or its custodian. You cannot keep it at home or in your own safe deposit box.

What happens to a gold LIRA at 71?

By the end of the year you turn 71, you must move it to a life income fund or use it to buy a life annuity. A LIF must pay at least the RRIF minimum each year (5.28% at 71), so if it holds only metal, some may have to be sold. Ask the trustee how it handles this.

Is it good to invest in gold for retirement?

It depends on your goals and the rest of your portfolio. Some investors hold a modest share of gold to diversify and as a partial hedge against inflation. Gold pays no income, can fall sharply, and in physical form adds storage costs. In a locked-in account you also cannot take the money out if you change your mind, so a qualified adviser’s view is worth getting first.

Sources

Ontario Regulation 909 under the Pension Benefits Act, Schedule 3 (LIRAs) and Schedule 1.1 (life income funds)
Pension Benefits Standards Regulations, 1985, section 20 (federal locked-in RRSPs)
OSFI, Unlocking funds from a pension plan or from a locked-in retirement savings plan
Income Tax Regulations, sections 4900 (qualified investments) and 7308 (RRIF minimums)
CRA Income Tax Folio S3-F10-C1, Qualified investments, paragraphs 1.51 to 1.54 and 1.72 to 1.73
CRA, limits and YMPE table (YMPE $74,600 for 2026)
CRA, RRSP options when you turn 71

Updated 31 October 2026: this guide previously said a LIRA could be rolled into an ordinary RRSP or RRIF without significant penalties and warned of mandatory minimum withdrawals from it. It now reflects the federal and Ontario rules: locked-in money moves only to another locked-in account, a life income fund, a pension plan or a life annuity, and minimum payments apply once the money is in a life income fund.