With the FTSE 100 going past 8,000 should I take on riskier pension investments?

Milestones for the UK’s flagship index should have nothing to do with how you invest for retirement

With the FTSE 100 going past 8,000 for the first time, should I be taking more investment risk with my pension? I am 45 years old and not planning to touch my fund until my late 60s, all being well. Paulo

It is worth explaining exactly what the FTSE 100 is before digging into the things you need to consider when investing your retirement pot.

The FTSE 100 is simply an index of the 100 largest UK-listed companies. There are other FTSE indices, such as the FTSE 250, and different countries, regions and sectors have their own indices too.

When the FTSE 100 was first created in 1984, it was set at a notional value of 1,000. You can see from the table below how long it has taken for the FTSE 100 to reach each 1,000 milestone. While growth in the first 15 years or so was rapid, the last 20 years has been more of a struggle.

In short this means nothing for your pension. The FTSE 100 passing 8,000 might be a moment