What should you be thinking about when it comes to your pension? Jaskarn Pawar reminds us what’s really important when saving for our retirement.

It is a relatively open question, but one I am sure is often met with a reply relating to fund performance. Too many people fail to see the wood for the trees when it comes to retirement planning.

Despite fund performance, percentage returns, fund choices, sectors etc. all seeming like important factors to take account of, they all miss the obvious point.

Which is?

Why are you even investing in the first place? If you think about it carefully it comes down to you wanting to put some money away so that you can use the assets you have built up to generate an income later in life. That is a great reason to save and invest. The point at which you have enough assets to generate the income you need is the point at which you no longer need to work.

So, if the reason why you are investing is to build up a pot of money that will generate an income for you when you are older, surely the most important measure of performance and success is the income it will generate now, based on its latest value?

Knowing what level of income your pension fund will generate for you at any given time is a powerful performance measure to have in your mind. This will help you match it to the level of income you would like to live off when you no longer want to work.

Once you know that you can decide whether your pension fund is large enough now for you to no longer have to work, or not. If not, then consider what needs to be done. If you need help with that, then ask a financial planner to work with you and make the right choices.

Of course the secondary measures such as performance and reliability are important, but they are secondary to the real aim of retirement planning, which is to help you build enough assets for what you need.

Find a financial adviser to help you reach your retirement goals.