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  • A Dovetail Financial Insights banner introducing educational articles about retirement decisions and how life and wealth connect.

Retirement Planning Articles

A woman and her adult granddaughter work at a loom where a finished piece, repeating pattern, adjustable work in progress, and unused yarn represent different forms of family support and retained flexibility.
Ross Marino | Jul 17, 2026

How Much Can We Help Family Without Weakening Our Retirement?

Family Support Retirement Spending Healthcare & Longevity
Family help can be meaningful without becoming an invisible, permanent commitment. Start by separating fixed, recurring, and open-ended support.
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A glassblower sends one measured breath into six connected vessels that expand by different amounts, illustrating how one additional working year can affect retirement variables unevenly.
Ross Marino | Jul 17, 2026

Would Working One More Year Materially Change Retirement?

Retirement Timing
Retirement Income
Social Security
Healthcare & Longevity
One more working year can change several parts of retirement at once. The useful question is which changes would be large enough to matter for your household.
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A woman opens the Taxable window among equal Tax-deferred and Roth windows, while a separate clock drops glass markers into a clearly labeled Checking bowl.
Ross Marino | Jul 17, 2026

Which Account Should Fund Retirement Spending First, and How Often?

Retirement Income
Tax Planning
Investments
IRA
The money for retirement spending may be available in several accounts. The next question is which one to use now, and when that choice deserves another look.
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An espalier tree supports symbols for household needs above five equal garden paths labeled Keep, Reduce, Replace, Surrender and Lapse.
Ross Marino | Jul 17, 2026

When Does Life Insurance Still Have a Job in Retirement?

Risk Management
Estate Planning & Legacy
Retirement Income
The policy may be old, but the question is current. Who or what would be affected if its protection changed today?
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A couple uses different controls connected to one shared observatory telescope, showing that different financial roles can still provide both spouses meaningful access.
Ross Marino | Jul 17, 2026

How Should Couples Choose a Financial Advisor When One Spouse Has Handled the Money?

Working With an Advisor
One spouse may know the accounts better. The right advisor relationship should still give both partners a clear, usable place in the decisions ahead.
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A woman watches automatic deposits partially fill a monthly cash-flow chamber before an adjustable transfer closes the remaining gap and sends the combined amount toward her home.
Ross Marino | Jul 16, 2026

When the Paycheck Stops: How Retirement Income Reaches the Checking Account

Retirement Income Planning
A retirement income plan becomes usable when automatic deposits, portfolio transfers, taxes, and review points work as one monthly process.
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A counterweight supports an interconnected advisor relationship while separate objects represent services or costs outside the quoted fee.
Ross Marino | Jul 16, 2026

How Much Does a Financial Advisor Cost, and What Should the Fee Include?

Working With an Advisor
The quoted fee is only the first number. Compare the work included and other costs, then see whether the relationship fits what you need.
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A colorful printing press combines several coordinated stages while specialists inspect and return the finished proof for review, illustrating how relevant experience becomes visible through the work performed.
Ross Marino | Jul 16, 2026

How Can You Tell Whether a Financial Advisor Has Retirement-Planning Experience?

Working With an Advisor
Retirement Income
A retirement label is easy to claim. See which records, examples, and working practices can show whether an advisor has relevant retirement-planning experience.
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A tailor adjusts a well-made jacket on a dress form, illustrating how approaching retirement can call for a fresh review of an existing advisor relationship.
Ross Marino | Jul 16, 2026

Is Your Financial Advisor Still the Right Fit as Retirement Gets Closer?

Working With an Advisor
A long-standing advisor relationship may still deserve a fresh look before retirement. See what to review and what to clarify without presuming a change.
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Three bright dimensional lenses are labeled Fee-Only, Fiduciary, and CFP®. Each lens reveals a different part of an advisor relationship: compensation, duty, or certification.
Ross Marino | Jul 16, 2026

Fee-Only, Fiduciary and CFP®: What Does Each Tell You About a Financial Advisor?

Working With an Advisor
Fee-only, fiduciary, and CFP® answer three different questions. Learn what each label confirms, what it does not prove, and what to verify next.
Read More
A couple stands together in a bright cottage garden, reflecting on a shared retirement future and the timing choices that can shape it.
Ross Marino | Jul 16, 2026

Retire Together or Stagger the Dates? What Each Path Protects

Retirement Timing
Work & Identity
Healthcare & Longevity
Medicare
Social Security
One shared retirement date may protect time together. A staggered path may preserve income or health coverage. It can also leave more room to adjust.
Read More
An older adult views three different colorful sculptures, each presented through an identical dark blue frame in a garden.
Ross Marino | Jul 14, 2026

How to Compare Financial Advisors: What to Ask and What to Verify

Working With an Advisor
Several advisors may look alike at first. Compare the same parts of each relationship. That process may make the decision feel more manageable without
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Dovetail Financial helps people nearing or living in retirement connect decisions about income, taxes, investments, Medicare, healthcare, family support, and life changes. Dovetail Financial Group LLC is a fee-only Registered Investment Adviser headquartered in Wilmington, NC. Advisory services are offered through Dovetail Financial Group LLC. Our team includes CFP® professionals. CRD #311298. Information presented on this site is for informational purposes only and does not intend to make an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any product or security. Investments involve risk and, unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Be sure to first consult with a qualified financial adviser and/or tax professional before implementing any strategy discussed here. The information being provided is strictly as a courtesy. When you link to any of the websites provided here, you are leaving this website. We make no representation as to the completeness or accuracy of the information provided on these websites.
 

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