Retirement and Insurance Planning

Your money should have a plan. Not just a pile of statements.

I am Gus Tonsay. For thirteen years I have helped people protect what they spent a career building and figure out what comes next. I am licensed in both insurance and securities, so we can look at the whole picture together: the income you will need, the risk you can afford, the people you want protected, and the products that fit once we know all three.

One conversation. No cost, and nothing is sold to you on it. If I am not the right fit, I will say so.

13 years in the industry Licensed in 10 states Insurance and securities licensed
Gus Tonsay
Gus Tonsay
Why This Is Hard

Saving for retirement and living off it are two different problems.


For most of your working life the job was simple, even if it did not feel that way: put money in, leave it alone, let time do the work. A bad year did not really matter, because you had two decades to make it back.

Everything changes when the paychecks stop. Now the same money has to cover thirty years, keep up with prices that will not sit still, survive a market that does not care about your timing, and still be there for the people you leave it to. That is four jobs at once, and the plan that got you here was only ever built for one of them.

Most people arrive at this point with a folder of statements from four different companies, a rough guess at what they can safely spend, and nobody who has looked at all of it in one sitting.

There is no single product that solves retirement. There is a sequence of decisions, and getting them in the right order matters more than any one thing you buy.
How I Help

Four questions I spend most of my time on.

Not everyone needs help with all four. Part of a first conversation is working out which ones actually apply to you.

01

Turning savings into income

What can you actually spend each year without running out. How Social Security timing changes that number. Which accounts to draw from first, and in what order, so you are not handing more than necessary to taxes.

02

Protecting what you cannot afford to lose

A downturn in your first few years of retirement does damage that a downturn at fifty does not. We look at how much of your money genuinely needs to be safe, how much can still work for you, and where the line between those two sits for you specifically.

03

Making sure your family is covered

Life insurance, beneficiary designations, and what happens to each account when you die. This is the part people put off for a decade, and it is usually the fastest to fix once someone sits down and reads the paperwork with you.

04

Annuities, when they actually fit

Annuities solve one specific problem well: income that does not stop while you are alive. They are not right for everyone and they are not right for all of your money. When one does fit, I can show you fixed, fixed indexed, and variable contracts from a wide range of carriers, which is broader access than most agents in this space have.

How I Work

Four steps. No pressure at any of them.

This is how every relationship I have starts, whether it ends in a product or not.

1
We talk before anything else

A conversation, not a presentation. What you have, when you want to stop working, what keeps you up at night, and what you want the money to actually do. I do not bring a product to this call, because I do not yet know whether you need one.

2
I map what you already have

Every account, pension, policy, and Social Security estimate in one place. A surprising number of people are paying for coverage they already have twice over, or sitting in something that no longer does what they bought it to do.

3
I show you the options, including doing nothing

Side by side, with the costs and the trade-offs stated plainly. If the honest answer is that you should change nothing and revisit this in two years, that is what I will tell you.

4
You decide, and I handle the rest

You take as long as you need. Nothing gets signed in a first meeting. Once you decide, I handle the paperwork, the transfers, and the follow-up, and I stay reachable long after anything is issued.

13
Years in the
financial industry
10
States
licensed
FINRA
Registered Representative
and Principal
2
Sides of the business:
insurance and securities
Why Me

What I bring that a lot of this industry does not.


01

Licensed on both sides

I hold insurance licenses through the Department of Insurance and I am registered with FINRA as a Representative and a Principal. Most people in this business hold one or the other, which quietly limits what they are allowed to talk to you about. I can look at the whole picture.

02

More options on the table

When a product does turn out to be the right answer, I have access to a wider set of carriers and contract types than most advisors in this space. That matters, because two products that look nearly identical in a brochure can differ enormously in cost and in what they actually pay out.

03

A real answer, including no

Plenty of the people I talk to should not buy anything. They should wait, or delay Social Security, or leave what they have alone. Saying that costs me a sale and it is the reason I still have clients from a decade ago.

Where I Work

Licensed in ten states.

If you live in one of these, we can work together. If you do not, reach out anyway and I will point you toward someone who can help.

  • California
  • Florida
  • Hawaii
  • Maryland
  • Missouri
  • North Carolina
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Washington
  • Wyoming
Common Questions

What people ask me first.


What does the first conversation cost?
Nothing. The first conversation is a conversation. I am paid by the carrier if and when you decide to move forward with something, which means you are never writing me a check for advice. I will tell you exactly how I am compensated on anything before you decide.
Are you going to try to sell me something on the first call?
No. I do not bring a recommendation to a first call because I do not have enough information to make one. If we get to a recommendation, it comes later, after I have seen what you actually have.
Do I have to be retired already?
No. Some of the most useful planning happens five to ten years out, while there is still time to make changes without forcing anything. If you are already retired, that is fine too. We just start from where you are.
I already work with someone. Is it worth talking?
Often, yes, even if nothing changes. A second read on your own plan costs you an hour. If your current advisor has it right, you will hear that from me and you will sleep better. If something has been missed, better to find out now.
What is the difference between an insurance license and a securities registration?
Broadly: insurance licensing covers products like life insurance and fixed and indexed annuities, while securities registration covers investments including variable annuities. Someone with only one of the two is limited in what they can discuss with you, which is worth knowing when you are being shown a narrow set of options. I hold both.
What if I am not in one of your ten states?
I can only advise clients in states where I hold an active license. Reach out anyway. I would rather point you to someone who can help than leave you without a next step.
Next Step

Let us find out if this is worth your time.

Answer a few short questions about your situation. If it looks like I can help, we will get a conversation on the calendar. If it does not, I will tell you that instead.

Get Started
Get Started