In our previous blog, we explained the necessity and benefits of investing collectively. If you are a member of the ARP/ASP plan, you can already make a few choices. Our board member Harold van Heesch explains your options in this blog post.

A few more years and we will have a new pension plan. We are obliged to, due to the new pension law: the Future Pensions Act (Wtp). In that new plan, you and the pension fund together build a personal pension capital: your personal “pension pot”. You've probably seen those terms used before. That means you can already make choices that best fit your situation and your wishes. It also gives you better insight into your expected pension.

However, if you're participating in the ARP/ASP plan, you also have a few options today, and it's a good idea to think about those. One option I would like to mention here: if you want, you can choose how you invest for your retirement. Because with the return on those investments – plus the premium paid – you accrue a pension. Good to know: in MyMarsPension you can check your accrued pension capital to date and how much pension you can expect annually.

The ASP part (Associate Selection Plan) of the ARP/ASP plan offers two options to invest your pension capital;

• First, Life Cycles. With these, you invest according to a predetermined plan, with less and less risk as you get older. That makes sense, since if you face underperforming investments just before retirement, you won't have time to make up for it. So it's better to invest more safely by then.
• Second, Self-directed investing. You can choose from the investments funds that Mars Pension Fund has selected for this purpose. If you decide to do this, you do need to demonstrate your knowledge of investments and your understanding of the different choices you can make in advance.

When choosing between these two options, we are happy to help you, with the ‘Beleggingswijzer’, which can be found in My Planner within MyMarsPension. If you need more help, you can of course engage a financial advisor. 

For the record: you can also choose to have the pension fund arrange everything for you, including the investments. Your capital will be invested according to Life Cycles, in such a way that it suits you as well as possible. It is and remains your pension, your income for later, which includes responsibility.

Hence my message: learn more about the options you have and visit MyMarsPension. Really, it doesn't take a lot of time and you don't have to be a pension expert. You will learn something anyway. Should you have further questions, Mars Pension Fund has a help desk that can help you with those. You know best what you want, what you can do, what your situation is now – and how you would prefer to live your life after retirement.

So visit MyMarsPension and delve into your future!

Good to know

Investing plays an important role in the new pension system. That is why we conducted research last year into what you think about investing and the risks that come with it. We will take the results of this survey into account in our preparations for the new pension plan.

More information?

At ‘Investing your pension’ you can find more information about the investments by the pension fund, your own options and the investment fund that Mars Pension Fund invests in.

Do you have a question about investing? Or would you like to know more about something? Let us know! A board member might answer your question next time.