Straight answers, including the awkward ones

No. We are licensed insurance professionals, and our work is insurance and annuity products. We are not a registered investment adviser, we do not manage portfolios, and we do not charge advisory fees. Education about how retirement income works is part of the conversation, but any specific recommendation from us is about insurance. For investment, tax and legal questions, work with professionals licensed for those.

No, neither. Celestial Wealth Solutions is an independent insurance agency staffed by licensed insurance producers. We are not registered as an investment adviser, we are not a broker dealer, and we are not a law firm or a tax firm. That boundary is worth knowing before any conversation about money, and we will name it again if a question strays past what we can answer.

No. We do not sell securities of any kind, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or variable products that require securities registration. Our work is life insurance, indexed universal life, annuities, and retirement strategies built around those. If your question is about a brokerage account or an investment portfolio, we will tell you plainly that it sits outside what we are licensed to handle.

No. We are not a tax firm and not a law firm, so we cannot advise on your tax situation, draft documents, or interpret law for you. We can explain how an insurance product is structured and what questions to take to your CPA or attorney. Many clients bring us into a conversation alongside those professionals, which usually produces a better result than keeping everyone separate.

Life insurance including term, whole life and indexed universal life, annuities, and retirement income strategies built around those products. We also run free financial education sessions for people who want to understand the mechanics before considering anything at all. Because we are independent, the specific carriers available to you depend on the product, your situation and the state you live in.

Eight: California, Arkansas, Hawaii, Delaware, Missouri, Indiana, Virginia and Texas. Our National Producer Number is 15874950, and licenses can be checked through state insurance department records. In person meetings happen around the San Francisco Bay Area from our Fremont base, and video covers the rest. Ask about your state on the first call, since licensing changes over time.

Look us up through a state insurance department. Our National Producer Number is 15874950, and most states let you search a producer by name or number in a couple of minutes on the department website. Verifying anyone before sharing personal or financial information is good practice rather than an insult, and any legitimate professional will hand you the number without hesitating.

Ask who would be financially harmed if your income stopped tomorrow. If the honest answer is nobody, you may not need life insurance right now, and we will tell you that. If somebody depends on you, shares a mortgage with you, or runs a business with you, there is something worth looking at. The amount and the type follow that answer, never the other way round.

Compare the contract, not the sales page. Look at the guaranteed column rather than the illustrated one, the financial strength rating of the insurer, the surrender schedule on an annuity, the caps and participation rates on an indexed product, and what each rider actually costs. Premiums that look similar can behave very differently over thirty years. We put that comparison in writing so you can check it.

The recommendation follows what you told us you need, your age and health, your budget, and which carriers underwrite your situation well. Different insurers price the same person differently, especially where health history is involved, and that is most of the argument for being independent. We show you why one option beat another instead of presenting a single answer and asking you to trust it.

Term covers you for a set number of years and pays only if you die during that period. Permanent coverage, such as whole life or indexed universal life, is designed to last for life and can build cash value over time. Term costs less for the same death benefit. Permanent does more but carries structure worth understanding fully, including charges, policy loans and how cash value actually behaves.

An annuity is a contract with an insurance company, usually bought to turn savings into income or to hold money under a defined set of guarantees and limits. It suits people at or near retirement who value income they cannot outlive over maximum growth. Every annuity has trade offs: surrender periods, caps, fees and limited access. Anyone who skips that part is not doing the job properly.

Guarantees are backed by the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance company, not by any government agency. That is why the insurer financial strength matters and why we look at ratings before recommending a contract. Illustrated or projected values are not guarantees, and dividends are not guaranteed. Read the guaranteed column of any illustration, because that is what the company is contractually committed to.

You talk to the owners. Zeena and Geancarlo Carmona take their own calls and run their own meetings, so nothing gets handed off to a junior after the sale. Being independent means we compare carriers instead of defending one shelf. And we say the unhelpful parts out loud, including when the right answer is to keep what you already own or to do nothing at all.

Yes. Information you share is used to understand your situation and prepare recommendations, and it is not sold. It reaches an insurance carrier only when you choose to apply, and only as that application requires. Our privacy policy on the site covers the specifics. Please avoid emailing Social Security or account numbers, and we will give you a safer route when that information is needed.

Yes. Business owners are one of the situations we see most often, usually where personal and business finances interact: retirement plan options for a small team, key person exposure, and what happens to the business if the owner cannot work. Bring your entity type and a rough sense of what the business nets. Your CPA and attorney stay involved, because the tax and legal pieces belong to them.

Book a free thirty minute strategy session by picking a time on Zeena Carmona's or Geancarlo Carmona's calendar. Choose one on the team page, or go straight to either founder's own page. You can also call or text (510) 461-2496, email Contact@CelestialWealthSolutions.com, or use the contact form and we will find a time with you. Sessions run in person around the San Francisco Bay Area, or by video anywhere we are licensed. No product is presented at that meeting, and there is no cost and no obligation attached to it.

Book the conversation anyway. Most first meetings start exactly there, with a few accounts, a policy somebody sold you years ago, and no single view of how any of it fits together. We map what you already have onto one page before anything else gets discussed. Not knowing what you need is a normal starting point, not a reason to wait another year.

Call (510) 461-2496 and say you want a second opinion. Bring the in force illustration for a life policy, or the contract for an annuity, and we will read it with you, including the surrender schedule, the caps and the charges. The review is free and carries no expectation that you change anything. Sometimes the right recommendation is to keep exactly what you have.

You get a written summary of where you stand. If a second meeting is warranted we schedule it, and if it is not, we tell you that plainly. Should you decide to apply for something, we explain the underwriting steps, what the carrier will need, and roughly how long it takes. We stay involved after the policy is issued rather than disappearing once it is placed.

Call or text Zeena Carmona at (510) 461-2496 or Geancarlo Carmona at (858) 405-6743, or email Contact@CelestialWealthSolutions.com. We are based in Fremont, California. Calls and texts inside business hours are usually returned the same day, and email within one business day.

An immediate annuity starts paying you income shortly after you fund it. A deferred annuity holds the money first and begins income on a future date you choose. People who need a paycheck right now look at immediate contracts. People still a few years out more often use deferred ones, which also leaves room for the value to grow. The right choice comes down to when you need the income to start.

Interest is calculated at the end of each crediting period by measuring the change in the linked index and applying the crediting method in your contract. If the index is up, interest is credited subject to a cap, a participation rate, or a spread. If the index is down, the credit is zero rather than a loss. Dividends are generally not included. Every one of those terms is spelled out in the contract.

Index losses do not reduce your principal, and that protection is the core design of the product. You can still end up with less than you put in for two reasons: withdrawing during the surrender period, which triggers a surrender charge, and optional rider charges deducted from your value. A zero interest year is also possible. Contract guarantees rest on the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance company.

It depends on the contract, which is why the question deserves a real answer rather than a slogan. Many fixed and fixed indexed annuities carry no explicit annual fee taken from the account value. Costs typically show up as surrender charges during the early years and as an annual charge on any optional rider you elect. Variable annuities work differently. We point you to the fee page in the actual contract.

A surrender charge is a penalty the insurance company applies if you take out more than your contract allows during the surrender period. The charge is a percentage of the amount withdrawn and it generally declines each year until it reaches zero. Surrender periods run for a set number of years defined in your contract. This is the single most important number to understand before signing, and we cover it every time.

Most annuity contracts allow a penalty free withdrawal of a set percentage of your value each year after the first contract year. Beyond that amount, surrender charges apply until the surrender period ends. Many contracts also include provisions for events such as nursing home confinement or terminal illness. An annuity should never hold money you may need in an emergency. We size the contract around what you can comfortably leave alone.

An income rider is an optional feature you can add to some annuities to create a stream of income you cannot outlive. It usually carries an annual charge, and it tracks a separate benefit value used only to calculate the income, not a cash value you can withdraw. That distinction confuses a lot of people. If you do not need lifetime income, a rider may be an expense you simply do not need.

Growth inside an annuity is generally tax deferred until you take money out. How a withdrawal is taxed depends on whether the contract sits inside a retirement account or was funded with after tax money, and an early withdrawal penalty can apply below the age set by current IRS rules. Celestial Wealth Solutions is not a tax firm, so we explain how the contract works and leave the calculation to your CPA.

Whatever remains passes to the beneficiaries named in the contract, and it generally avoids probate because a beneficiary is already on file. A surviving spouse can often continue the contract as the new owner. Non spouse beneficiaries have different options and different tax consequences under current rules. Some payout elections stop at death while others continue, which is why the option you choose matters. Keep your beneficiary designations current.

Guarantees in an annuity are backed by the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance company. They are not FDIC insured and they are not guaranteed by the federal government. That makes the financial strength of the carrier a real part of the decision, and we review independent strength ratings with you. Every state also has a guaranty association providing limited protection, subject to statutory limits that vary by state.

Annuities get that reputation from three real problems: products sold to people who did not need them, surrender periods that were never explained, and charges buried in a rider nobody read. The product itself is a contract, and a contract is only as good as its fit and its disclosure. Our answer is to hand you the surrender schedule and the fee page before you decide. Read them. If it does not fit, walk.

The trade is liquidity and upside in exchange for protection. Your money is committed for the length of the surrender period, so it is not emergency cash. Your interest is limited by a cap, a participation rate, or a spread, which means you will trail a strong bull market. Some years credit zero. If those three things are acceptable to you, the product does what it says it does.

Anyone who may need the money soon should not tie it up in an annuity. That includes people without a separate emergency fund, people expecting a major expense during the surrender period, and people who want full market upside and can stomach the losses that come with it. Very short time horizons and unstable income are other reasons to pass. If that describes you, we will say so on the first call.

Fixed indexed annuities tend to fit people near or in retirement who want a portion of their money protected from market losses and are comfortable leaving it alone for the length of the surrender period. It is usually one part of a plan, not the whole plan. Someone covering an income gap, or protecting money they cannot afford to lose, is the common case. Suitability is reviewed contract by contract.

Every carrier sets its own minimum, and those minimums vary widely from product to product. Some contracts open with a modest amount and others are built for larger balances. The more useful question is how much of your savings should go into any one contract, and the answer is never all of it. We look at your reserves and income needs first, then size the contract around what is left.

Yes. The insurance company pays the agency a commission when a contract is placed, which is why reviews and illustrations cost you nothing. That commission comes from the carrier and is not deducted from your premium as a separate line item charge. You should ask this question of anyone who shows you an annuity, and be wary of anyone who avoids answering it. We will tell you how any product pays.

A free look period is a window after you receive your contract during which you can cancel it and get your money back. The length is set by state law and by the contract, so it varies. It exists so you can read the actual document at your own kitchen table instead of deciding in a meeting. We encourage people to use it. If the contract does not match what you were told, cancel.

Call (510) 461-2496 or use the contact form and tell us what you are trying to solve. We ask about your age, your state, the money you are considering, and when you would want income. Then we request current information from carriers and go through it with you, including the surrender schedule and any rider charges. Nothing is signed and nothing is owed. Most people take the material home first.

Quotes and illustrations come from the insurance carrier, and we request them for you at no cost. Only a few facts are needed: your age, your state of residence, the approximate amount, and your target income date. The illustration shows guaranteed elements and hypothetical ones, and we walk you through which is which. Ask for it in writing so you can read it without anyone sitting across from you.

Applications are often completed in a single sitting, and the contract can be issued within days when the funding is straightforward. The timeline stretches when money has to move from another institution, since a rollover or an exchange of an existing annuity travels at the pace of the releasing company and commonly takes a few weeks. Your free look period does not begin until the contract is delivered to you.

Our licensing covers eight states, and we can help you if yours is among them. Celestial Wealth Solutions is based in Fremont, California and works throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, with clients out of state as well. Annuity contracts are approved state by state, so what is available where you live may differ. Call (510) 461-2496 and we will confirm your state before anything else moves.

Yes. California requires electronic fingerprints from first time resident applicants, and the results go to both the state Department of Justice and the FBI as part of a background review. Other states set their own requirements. Getting fingerprinted early is worth doing, since waiting on those results is one of the most common reasons a license sits unissued after the exam has already been passed.

Not automatically. State insurance departments review background information case by case, and the outcome depends on what the item is, how long ago it happened, and whether you disclosed it. Hiding something is far more damaging than the item itself. Raise any concern on the first call and we will tell you honestly what we know, then point you to the state as the authority on your situation.

It means there is no salary, no draw and no guaranteed floor. You are paid by carriers on business you place, and if you place none, you earn none. Income is production based, so the early months are genuinely uncertain. No level of income is promised, implied or guaranteed here. Results vary with effort, skill, licensing and market conditions, and many people who begin do not achieve significant income.

No, and it is a fair question to ask. A pyramid scheme pays people for recruiting other people. We are a licensed insurance agency, and compensation comes from insurance products placed with real clients by state licensed professionals, not from bringing anyone in. Nobody pays us to join and nobody is required to buy a policy. Our National Producer Number is 15874950 and state licenses are publicly verifiable.

No. You can be licensed, serve clients and never license another person. Building a team is an option later for people who want it, and it carries its own responsibilities, but it is not a requirement and it is not how anyone gets paid on day one. If someone tells you recruiting is the only path to income, they are describing a different business than this one.

This is an independent contractor opportunity, not employment. There is no salary, no benefits package and no employer withholding. You run your own business, set your own schedule, cover your own business expenses and handle your own taxes, which usually means setting money aside from every commission payment. A tax professional can tell you how that applies to your situation, because we are not a tax firm.

We will not give you a number, and you should be skeptical of anyone who does. No specific level of income is promised, implied or guaranteed. Compensation is entirely production based, results vary by effort, skill, licensing and market conditions, and many people who begin do not achieve significant income while some earn nothing at all. What we can describe honestly is the activity, the training and the schedule.

Yes, and most people start that way. Ten to fifteen focused hours a week is a realistic starting commitment, which usually supports two to four client appointments plus a weekly training block. People move to full time when the numbers justify it, not on faith. Part time means slower, not lesser. The licensing requirements, the training and the standards owed to clients are identical either way.

No, and we do not recommend it. Almost everyone begins alongside existing work and keeps that income while getting licensed, trained and into a rhythm. Quitting first puts maximum financial pressure on you at the exact moment you have the least skill, which is the worst possible order. Leave when the business supports it. Anyone urging you to burn the boats is not looking out for you.

No. Most people here came from healthcare, fitness, teaching, hospitality, the military, real estate or commissioned sales rather than finance. The two traits that actually predict anything are coachability and a willingness to talk to people. Product knowledge is trainable and we train it. What is much harder to install in somebody is the discipline to finish the licensing process and keep appointments on the calendar.

Training runs in four blocks and the order matters: licensing first, then products, then field skills, then leadership for those who want it. You learn how term, whole life, indexed universal life and annuity contracts are genuinely built, including the parts that are not in the client favor. Sessions run by video, so you do not need to live in the Bay Area. A mentor sits in your early appointments.

You get a written plan with weekly checkpoints rather than a vague instruction to go sell something. Early weeks are licensing and product fundamentals. You then shadow live appointments before running one alone, and a mentor joins your appointments until you no longer need them there. One standing training block sits on the calendar each week. The plan describes activity, not income, because activity is the part anyone can commit to.

Plan for licensing costs paid to the state and the course provider, then ongoing business expenses that may include platform or technology fees, errors and omissions coverage, marketing, continuing education, and your own tax obligations as an independent contractor. Amounts vary and change, so ask for current figures before you enroll. Everything is disclosed up front. If a cost surprises you after you start, we did our job badly.

Not as a purchased list handed to you on day one. Most people start with a warm list they build in the first week, then work from referrals earned by helping those people. Some professionals later choose to invest in marketing or lead sources at their own expense. We would rather teach you to create conversations than have you dependent on somebody else list from the beginning.

Not until the state issues your license and carrier appointments are in place, which realistically means several weeks at minimum. After that, timing depends entirely on your own activity and on carrier processing of the business you write. No timeline is promised or guaranteed. Plan your personal finances as though income will take a while, because for many people it does and for some it never arrives.

This is a poor fit for anyone who needs predictable income right now, anyone unwilling to be coached, and anyone hoping to avoid talking to people. It is also wrong for someone looking for passive side income, because it is a licensed profession with real obligations to clients. If that describes you, we will say so on the call rather than sign you up and watch it fail.

Start with a thirty minute conversation. Call (510) 461-2496 or submit the careers form on our site, and tell us what you do now and what you are looking for. There is no cost, no obligation and no application at that stage. If it is not a fit, we will tell you on that call so you lose half an hour instead of six weeks.

We contact you to schedule the thirty minute conversation, usually within one business day. On that call we cover your background, the licensing steps, the real costs, the time commitment and how compensation works, and you ask whatever you want. If both sides want to continue, the next step is enrolling in the pre-licensing course. Nothing is signed and nothing is paid before that conversation happens.

Use the careers form on the site or call (510) 461-2496 directly. Ask for a careers conversation and we will put you on the calendar, typically within a few business days. Sessions run by video or in person around the San Francisco Bay Area. You will be speaking with Zeena or Geancarlo Carmona, the two founders, not a recruiter working from a script.

Bring your questions and an honest sense of how many hours a week you can commit. It helps to know whether you have held a professional license before, whether anything on your background record needs disclosing, and what your income situation looks like while you get licensed. No resume is required and nothing needs preparing in writing. Turning up with hard questions is the best possible preparation.

Call or text Zeena Carmona at (510) 461-2496 or Geancarlo Carmona at (858) 405-6743, or email Contact@CelestialWealthSolutions.com. Both are Co-Founders and Licensed Insurance Professionals, and both take these conversations themselves. Calls and texts inside business hours are usually answered the same day, and email within one business day.

Celestial Wealth Solutions is based in Fremont, California, and serves the wider San Francisco Bay Area in person. Video meetings cover the rest of our licensed footprint. Call (510) 461-2496 to arrange a meeting near you or to set up a video session instead.

Tell us on the first call and we will say so directly. We cannot place insurance business in a state where we are not licensed, and we will not pretend otherwise. Licensing can sometimes be added, so it is worth asking. If we cannot help you, we would rather say that in five minutes than book a meeting that goes nowhere.

Useful but not required: recent statements for retirement or brokerage accounts, any life insurance or annuity documents you hold, a recent employer benefits summary, and a rough monthly cash flow figure even if it is an estimate. Business owners can add entity type and roughly what the business nets. The more you bring, the more specific the written summary can be. Bringing nothing is fine too.

No. Nothing is required to get on the calendar or to hold the first meeting. We start with what you know and build from there. If documents would sharpen the conversation, we will name the ones that help and you can send them before a second meeting. Waiting until you feel organized is the most common reason people put this off for years.

Calls and texts during business hours are usually answered the same day. Email is answered within one business day, and messages through the contact form run on the same schedule. If you would rather skip the wait, pick a time directly on Zeena Carmona's or Geancarlo Carmona's calendar instead. If you have not heard back within a business day, call (510) 461-2496 directly rather than waiting on the form.

Other times are available by appointment, which matters for people who work shifts or cannot take a call during the workday. Evening and early morning sessions can usually be arranged. Ask when you book and we will find a time rather than making you take a half day off work for a first conversation.

The first session can usually be scheduled within a few business days. If your situation is time sensitive, for example an enrollment deadline or a policy decision with a date attached, say so when you reach out and we will look for something sooner. Call (510) 461-2496 for the fastest answer on current availability rather than sending the form.

No. Nothing is presented for signature at the first meeting and there is no application on the table. The purpose is to understand your situation and give you a written summary of where you stand. If we think a product fits, we say so and explain the trade offs, including where it would be the wrong answer. Deciding to do nothing is a legitimate outcome.

Zeena Carmona or Geancarlo Carmona, the two Co-Founders, both Licensed Insurance Professionals. There is no call center, no lead form routing you to a stranger, and no junior handling the first meeting. Whoever you speak with first stays on your file, and you have their direct number from that first conversation onward rather than a general line.

Call or text Zeena at (510) 461-2496 and say you would like to speak with her. She is Co-Founder and a Licensed Insurance Professional, and she takes her own calls. If she is with a client, leave a message or send a text and you will hear back the same business day during our regular hours.

Call or text Geancarlo at (858) 405-6743, or email Contact@CelestialWealthSolutions.com. He is Co-Founder and a Licensed Insurance Professional. Like Zeena, he runs his own calls and meetings. If you have already spoken with one of them, ask for that person by name and you will stay with them rather than being passed around the agency.

Yes. Call or text (510) 461-2496 and use the form only if you prefer it. The form exists so we know which conversation to prepare for, not to filter you. Texting works well for scheduling. Nothing you send through any of these routes goes to a third party call center or a shared sales floor.

Yes. Email Contact@CelestialWealthSolutions.com and you will get a reply within one business day. Email works well for sending documents ahead of a meeting or asking a question you are not ready to have a full conversation about. Please do not send Social Security numbers or account numbers by email, and we will give you a safer route when that information is needed.

Yes. What you share is used to understand your situation and prepare recommendations, and it is not sold. Information reaches an insurance carrier only when you decide to apply for something, and only as that application requires. Our privacy policy on the site sets out the details. If you would rather hold something back at the first meeting, that is completely fine.

No. The written summary is part of the free first session and it is yours whether you ever place business with us or not. Some people take it elsewhere for a second opinion, which is a reasonable thing to do. We would rather be the agency you compare against than the one that made a summary conditional on a sale.

Bring it. Second opinions are one of the most common meetings we run. Bring the in force illustration for a life policy or the contract for an annuity, and we will read it with you, including the surrender schedule, the caps and the parts that are not in your favor. Replacing existing coverage is not automatically an upgrade, and often the honest answer is to keep it.

Pick a time on Zeena Carmona's or Geancarlo Carmona's calendar right now, on the team page or on either founder's own page, and you are booked instantly. If you would rather we find a time for you, call or text (510) 461-2496 or use the contact form and tell us whether you want a client conversation or a careers conversation, and whether you prefer in person or video. We will come back with times, usually within one business day.

One of the founders contacts you, usually within one business day, to confirm what you want to talk about and agree a time. You then get a confirmation with the video link or the meeting location. Nothing else happens in between. You will not be added to a call rotation, and you will not be handed to somebody you have never spoken with.

You receive a written summary of where you stand, in plain language. If a second meeting is warranted we book it then. If it is not, we say so, and that is a legitimate ending to the process. Should you decide to move forward on something, we explain the application steps, the timelines and what the carrier will need before anything is submitted.

Yes, and we encourage it. Decisions about income, coverage and a business rarely belong to one person, and repeating a thirty minute conversation secondhand loses most of it. Tell us who is joining when you book so we prepare for the right conversation. Video meetings make this much easier when the two of you are not in the same place.