February is rightfully the month of love! And yes, this can also affect your retirement. In the weeks surrounding Valentine's Day, we'll take you through this. So you know where you and your loved ones stand. What should you actually do when you get married or start living together? 

The planner for the Associate Retirement Plan (ARP) and Associate Selection Plan (ASP) has been available again in MyMarsPension since February 1.

The UPO shows how much pension you have accrued so far. The Pension Dashboard shows what you can accrue if you continue to work at Mars. How certain is it that you will actually receive these amounts?

The UPS has changed a lot compared to last year. The new UPS is much shorter, clearer and easier to read. And it contains recognizable icons.

The new UPO states how much pension you have accrued at the moment. Of course you also want to know how much pension you can expect later. And whether that is enough. You can find these answers in the Pension Dashboard.

Ad van Gestel has been on the Accountability Body of Mars Pensioenfonds (representing the pensioners) since 2014. He now makes himself available for another term of three years.

With the Pension Dashboard from MPF you can map out your financial situation on your retirement date. It shows how much pension or capital you have currently built up at MPF and what your pension could be by the time you retire. This allows you to determine now whether or not your income for later will be sufficient. And which pension choices you want to make. From now on, your data in the pension dashboard will be updated more frequently.

Pension funds in the Netherlands are in somewhat better shape again, but are far from out of the woods. The investment results were ultimately better than expected in 2016, but we are dealing with a low market interest rate, which means that the coverage ratios still remain on the low side. The financial situation of Mars Pension Fund (MPF) has also improved. I would like to take you through the current developments and their financial impact on our pension fund.

If you take vacation days, you will get paid. And you will also build up a pension. If you take unpaid leave, however, it may affect your pension. For example, if you take parental leave or a sabbatical.