Headquartered in Canoga Park, CA · Serving clients nationwide
GDNZA Financial Group helps you build a retirement plan around three questions: how much income you'll need, where it will come from, and how much of it the IRS will take. We specialize in Indexed Universal Life, tax-free retirement strategies, income annuities, and planning for business owners.
What we do
Each strategy solves a different problem. We look at your whole picture first, then recommend only what fits.
Permanent life insurance with cash value credited based on a market index, such as the S&P 500, with a floor that protects against index losses.
Properly structured policies let you access cash value through withdrawals and policy loans that are generally not taxed. That income doesn't count toward Social Security taxation thresholds.
Fixed and fixed indexed annuities can turn part of your savings into guaranteed lifetime income, backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuing carrier.
Strategies to protect your business from losing a key person, fund an orderly transfer to a partner or family, and reward the employees you want to keep.
Tax diversification
$1,000,000 in a 401(k) is not $1,000,000 of spending money. Depending on your bracket when you withdraw it, a meaningful share belongs to the government. Spreading savings across buckets gives you control over your taxable income in retirement.
| Bucket | Going in | While it grows | Coming out | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taxable | After-tax dollars | Taxed yearly on interest, dividends, gains | Capital gains tax on growth | Brokerage accounts, CDs, savings |
| Tax-deferred | Pre-tax dollars | No tax until withdrawn | Ordinary income tax on every dollar; RMDs begin at 73–75 | 401(k), 403(b), traditional IRA, TSP |
| Tax-free | After-tax dollars | No tax on growth | Generally tax-free when rules are followed | Roth IRA, Roth 401(k), properly structured IUL |
Tax treatment of life insurance depends on the policy meeting IRC §7702 and avoiding Modified Endowment Contract (MEC) status. Policy loans and withdrawals reduce cash value and death benefit and can cause the policy to lapse; a lapse with an outstanding loan may create a taxable event. Consult your tax professional.
Quick estimate
Enter what you'd like to live on each month and the income you already expect. The difference is what your savings have to cover.
Monthly income gap
$3,000
Illustration only. Doesn't account for inflation, taxes, investment returns, or health costs. Your free analysis runs the full numbers.
Close my gap: get a free analysisHow we work
We learn your goals, timeline, current accounts, and what worries you most about retirement.
You get a written review: your income gap, your tax-bucket mix, and the options that fit, with the trade-offs of each explained plainly.
If you decide to move forward, we handle the paperwork and carriers, then review your plan with you every year.
For business owners
Most small businesses have no written plan for what happens if an owner dies, becomes disabled, or wants to retire. We help you put one in place and fund it.
Pays the business if a critical owner or employee dies, covering lost revenue, loan payments, and the cost of replacing them.
Life insurance gives surviving partners the cash to buy out a deceased owner's share at an agreed price, so the family is paid and the business stays intact.
The business pays premiums on a policy the employee owns, usually as a deductible bonus. A simple way to reward and retain top people.
Build tax-advantaged retirement income outside the business, so your retirement doesn't depend entirely on selling it.
About
Leonel founded GDNZA Financial Group to give working families and business owners across the country the kind of planning that used to be reserved for the wealthy: a clear look at how their retirement income will actually work, and how taxes will affect it.
As an independent professional, he works with multiple top-rated carriers, so recommendations are built around your situation rather than one company's products. Every client gets plain-language explanations, including what a strategy won't do.
Common questions
Free retirement analysis
Send this request to Leonel at [email protected] or call (213) 720-5757 to schedule your analysis.