About Richard Cakans

Retirement planning is personal — because your life is personal

Hello, I’m Richard Cakans.

I’m an Independent Financial Adviser based in Cumbria, and I work with clients across the UK (either in person locally or remotely via Zoom and telephone). I’ve spent more than 20 years helping people make confident decisions about money — especially when retirement is getting close and the questions start to feel bigger than spreadsheets.

I wrote Retirement: It's Personal because retirement planning is too often treated like a maths problem, when for most people it’s a life decision.

Yes — the numbers matter.
But so do the fears, the “what ifs”, the relationship dynamics, and the simple question: what will my days actually look like?

When I am not working with clients, I enjoy spending time with family, following Carlisle United and Workington Reds, cars and holidays.

Why I wrote Retirement: It’s Personal

Over the years, I’ve noticed something consistent:

People don’t just want to know if they can retire.
They want to know how to retire well.

That includes:

Feeling confident you’re not making a mistake
Understanding the trade-offs (and not regretting them later)
Knowing what your plan is for — not just what it costs
Having a framework that makes retirement feel clear and manageable

This book is built around aligning three forces that shape a successful retirement:

Money. Emotions. Lifestyle.

When those three are working together, retirement feels calmer. When they’re out of sync, even a “good” financial position can feel uncertain.

Who this book is for

This book is for you if any of these sound familiar:

You’re approaching retirement and thinking: “I think I’m okay… but I’m not sure.”
You want to retire, but you don’t want to worry every time the market moves
You and your partner are not fully aligned on what retirement should look like
You’re concerned about longevity, health, or running out of money
You’re recently retired and want reassurance that your plan is sustainable
You want a simple way to make decisions without getting overwhelmed

It’s designed to be practical, down-to-earth, and clear — without jargon, and without pretending retirement is the same for everyone.

My approach

My role as an adviser has always been to help people move from uncertainty to clarity.

In real terms, that usually means:

simplifying the moving parts,
mapping decisions in the right order,
and giving you a plan that feels realistic for your life (not an idealised version of retirement).

I’m also a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (FCSI), and I take pride in explaining things in a way that makes people feel at ease — because good decisions are easier when you’re not stressed.

A quick note about the website

This website is here to support the book and give you helpful resources as you plan your retirement.

Over time, you’ll find:

articles and explanations in plain English,
worksheets and planning prompts,
and tools to help you think through the money and the lifestyle side of retirement.

If you’d like updates as the book launches (and when new resources go live), you can join the email list below.