The longer the period the greater the value of the plan. In fact due to compounding factors the value increases more and more dramatically the longer the investment period.
	Contributions, as a percentage of the total value of the investment, reduce equally dramatically the longer the investment period (in the above example from 69% over 10 year investment to 15% for 40 years). This means that the longer the investment time frame the more of your investment value will come from investment returns rather than from your contributions.
	Opposite to the point immediately above is that investment returns provide more and more of your investment value the longer the investment period. In the above example over 40 years investment returns account for 85% of the total value of the investment whereas over 10 years investment returns only provide 31% of total value.

The above example is purely fictitious and based on certain assumptions: the investment compounds annually; the contributions are provided once a year; the investment returns 8% per annum. The provision of the example is subject to the general disclaimer in the web site and the fact that the information provided is not substitute for professional advice. We disclaim all responsibility for full or partial reliance on the information provided. Obtain advice from your accountant or financial adviser before proceeding.