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COMING SOON THE 30TH OF OCTOBER 2026 — THE NEXT BOOK IN THE RETIREMENT: IT'S… SERIES
Retirement: It's Emotional
The emotional journey before, during and after retirement.
You've spent a lifetime working towards retirement. But are you emotionally ready for it?
For decades, life has revolved around work. The early mornings, deadlines, responsibilities and the constant pressure of having somewhere to be.
Then, one day, it all changes.
No alarm clock. No meetings. No Monday morning rush.
Just freedom.
Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?
But what happens when the excitement wears off? When you miss the routine, question your purpose or start worrying about spending the money you've spent a lifetime saving?
Following my Amazon No.1 bestselling book Retirement: It's Personal, my new book, Retirement: It's Emotional, explores the feelings we don't always talk about.
The excitement. The uncertainty. The fear. The freedom. And the journey towards finding a new sense of purpose.
Because retirement isn't just about what you're leaving behind. It's about discovering what comes next.
COMING SOON
Discover more about the book and sign up for launch updates.
You could retire on paper. So why does it still feel like such a big decision?
For many people in their 50s and 60s, the problem isn’t a lack of pensions or spreadsheets – it’s a lack of clarity and confidence.
You might have several pension pots, some savings and a rough idea of “your number”, but still find yourself asking:
- Am I really ready to retire – or should I wait?
- What if I stop too early and regret it?
- What if I leave it too late and miss my best years?
In Retirement It's Personal Chartered Fellow FCSI and independent financial adviser Richard Cakans shows you how to decide when to retire by aligning three things that must work together:
- Money – what you have, what you need, and how to turn pensions and investments into a sustainable income
- Emotions – fears about running out of money or time, guilt about stopping work, and the deeper questions behind “Am I ready?”
- Lifestyle – what you actually want your days, weeks and years to look like in this next chapter
Drawing on years of real client conversations, this book helps you:
- Understand what “enough” looks like for you
- Make sense of your pensions and income options in plain English
- Use tools like “The Lottery Question” and the three phases of retirement to clarify your thinking
- Build a simple, flexible plan you can review each year
If you’re unsure whether to retire, reduce your hours or just keep going, this book will help you move from anxious guesswork to informed, confident decisions about the rest of your life.
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I
Retirement is about more than money
I’m Richard Cakans, a UK Independent Financial Adviser based in Cumbria and author of the Retirement: It’s… series.
I wrote Retirement: It’s Personal because retirement planning is about far more than pensions, investments and reaching a particular number.
A successful retirement needs three things to work together:
Money — understanding what you have, what you need and how your finances can support you.
Emotions — feeling confident about stepping away from work, spending the money you have built up and adjusting to a major life change.
Lifestyle — having a clear idea of what you are actually retiring to and how you want the next stage of your life to look.
When those three areas are aligned, retirement can feel right not only on paper, but in real life.
Coming soon — Retirement: It’s Emotional
My next book, Retirement: It’s Emotional, takes a much deeper look at one of the areas of retirement planning that is often overlooked:
How retirement actually feels.
It explores the emotional journey before, during and after retirement — from doubt, fear and questions about identity, through to the first weeks after work ends, changes in relationships, anxiety about spending, finding new structure and gradually settling into a different way of life.
Because you can be financially ready to retire...
and still not feel ready.
Retirement: It’s Emotional is coming soon and is the next book in the Retirement: It’s… series.
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