Following Mercer’s concerns that changes to the IAS 19 company accounting standards for employee benefits would significantly alter asset allocation decisions, Hewitt Associates has said that the new proposals for the standard could increase reported pension costs.

The International Accounting Standards Board’s (IASB) proposals will increase profit and loss (P&L) charges for most UK defined benefit (DB) pension schemes, and will significantly increase the volatility of the balance sheet liability for some, according to the consultant

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has revealed that the aggregate funding position of defined benefit (DB) funds in its universe has improved to a deficit of £15.1bn at end February 2010, a huge improvement from end January’s results of a deficit of £51.9bn

The UK is leading the way in implementing innovative risk management solutions for the key issues in the defined benefit (DB) pension schemes, according to Aon Consulting

Refining investment funds to improve future performance and simplifying the way they are presented to members is the key to better levels of defined contribution (DC) engagement, says Brian Henderson, senior investment consultant at Mercer

Changes to the international accounting standards (IAS 19) could change asset allocations and lead to lower risk investment strategies for pension plans, warns Mercer

Just thirty-four per cent of employees believe their pension will be sufficient for retirement, according to the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF)

Socially responsible investing (SRI) can boost pension fund portfolios, rather than be to their detriment, according to investment managers at a Newton Investment London roundtable today (8 March 2010)

Should Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, follow through with his proposal to restart the emergency quantitative easing programme due to weakness in the eurozone, scheme deficits could suffer further, warns Aon Consulting

The Conservative party has voted against auto-enrolment in the House of Commons in what Nigel Waterson, Conservative Shadow pensions minister, has labelled a “protest” against the Government’s “flawed system of implementation”

The PPF should consult on ending its practice of automatically increasing compensation payments, says Mercer

In a not-so-surprising announcement, the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (PADA) has named Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as the successful bidder for its National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) scheme administration services

The FSA has bared its teeth again by announcing fines for RSM Tenon Financial Services Limited (Tenon) of £700,000 for poor systems and controls to prevent unsuitable advice in its pension switching and structured product business

The FSA has raised concerns over the disclosure and marketing of TLP and has warned providers and advisers that they face “significant risk” to their reputations if they fail to sell or advise on TLPs properly

The average large employer in the FTSE 100 has increased the maximum contribution made to defined contribution (DC) pension schemes, according to Towers Watson

The Government should abandon its complex and costly proposals on the tax treatment of pensions contributions, says the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF)

The collective problem of delivering higher state pensions, public debt and longevity could all be solved with a faster and further rise in the SPA, argues PwC

A new minimum threshold requirement, and an independent commission with powers to increase contribution levels, would help secure the long-term sustainability of the LGPS

Financial advisors, accountants and EBCs are in for a busy time with 90% of UK firms intending to seek advice and guidance to help understand the pension reforms from 2012

The largest ever pension scheme insurance deal has been struck by Abbey Life, in association with Paternoster, to provide the BMW (UK) Operations Pension Scheme with a hedge for the life expectancy risks for its almost £3bn of liabilities

Taxpayers could save £600 million to the detriment of pensioners, depending on the date Gordon Brown chooses for the general election, warns Towers Watson

Individuals can now contact their pension providers and request that they back resolutions brought against BP and Shell, through an innovative internet tool launched by FairPensions

Mercer has launched its Pension Buyout Index to assist companies and trustees when it comes to de-risking

Small shifts in asset allocation could boost pension pots, highlighting the need for DC members to take control of their investment strategy, says Aon Consulting

The RDA UK, the UK subsidiary of the RDA, is to file for administration following the rejection of a clearance application by TPR

Legal & General (L&G) has launched into the longevity insurance market from today (17 February 2010), following an investigation into the sector

Pension scheme risk transfer deals totalled £7.7bn in 2009, a figure that is expected to double in 2010, according to the Hymans Robertson

The gender gap has grown when it comes to pensions with women expecting to retire on over £7,000 less than men in 2010, according to Prudential

The FSA has announced that it is to address the life settlements industry, an investment class on which it has rarely commented

Active management is set to play a significant role in DC pension plans by 2012’s launch of NEST, say 76 per cent of UK pension groups

Rick Di Mascio has announced that he will not stand for re-election as chairman of the T-Charter, following service in the position since 2005

With Solvency II receiving the green light to go ahead in 2012, pensioners could be facing a 30 per cent drop in retirement income, which could get worse, warns Annuity Direct

BT has announced plans to tackle its £9bn pension fund deficit with a seventeen year recovery plan

A consultation paper on the IGG draft investment government principles and best practice guidance for trust-based and contract-based DC work-based pension schemes has been welcomed by the industry

Hector Sants is to step down from his position as chief executive officer at the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in the summer.

The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has launched two new initiatives to support the ownership role of pension funds, and to continue to support raising corporate governance standards in the UK.

LV= has branched out into the ‘third way’ market with the launch of Protected Retirement Plan, its first fixed-term retirement product

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) must ensure that it continues to provide value for money when it comes to investment, especially as more schemes are transferring into its lifeboat, says the National Audit Office (NAO).

Only two per cent of defined benefit (DB) private sector pension schemes will be open in 2019, estimates Xafinity

If HMRC allows an asset class to be invested in self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs), providers should also, say advisers in a survey conducted by Suffolk Life

Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) has agreed a mammoth deal to insure the benefits for members of the Liberty International Group Retirement Benefit Scheme.

The end of 2010 could bring about a pensions deficit of £500bn for the UK’s defined benefit (DB) schemes, warns Xafinity

Pension schemes placed less emphasis on inflation hedging in the last quarter of 2009 (Q4 2009), according to F&C’s latest Liability Driven Investments (LDI) Survey

A BlueBay Asset Management plc (BlueBay) hedge fund manager has been banned and fined £140,000 for mis-marking funds he managed

The Reader’s Digest Association, Ltd. could fall into administration following a decision by TPR not to approve a clearance application by the group

Record keeping standards must be improved, says the Pensions Regulator (TPR) in a consultation which states required standards for this practice

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has confirmed that employers it deems to be the most robust against going bust will face a 68 per cent increase in its levy payment for 2011

Former NAPF chairman, Robin Ellison, is to lead the ‘U Party’, a new political group aimed at the centre ground

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has received a thumbs-up for its risk-based approach to regulation in an independent review by the Better Regulation Executive (BRE) and the National Audit Office (NAO).

NEST is set to fail as it is built on ‘shaky’ foundations, according to Steve Webb, the Liberal Democrats’ front bench work and pensions spokesperson

Pension services and employee benefits group, Xafinity, is to be acquired by Advent International for an undisclosed sum

NEST Corporation, tasked with delivering the NEST pension scheme to the UK, has named Lawrence Churchill as its chair

Members of the Freedom SIPP have been thrown a lifeline with the appointment of Mattioli Woods, as agent to the troubled scheme

Poor annuity rates are pushing people towards drawdown according to research from Skandia

An amendment to the tax penalties on ASPs is necessary to avoid further transfers to overseas pension arrangements, says London & Colonial

Employees with defined contribution (DC) pensions may get away with working for fewer years to achieve a reasonable income in retirement due to surging equity prices, says Mercer.

The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) has appointed Partha Dasgupta as its new chairman for a term of three years

Standard Life has been fined £2.45 million after having produced misleading marketing material for its Pension Sterling Fund.

Trustees of defined contribution (DC) schemes should not be using default investment funds as an excuse to wash their hands of their responsibilities, according to Pitmans Trustees Limited (PTL).

The PPF and TPR have jointly published the fourth Purple Book, an in-depth analysis of defined benefit (DB) schemes’ performance throughout a turbulent 2008/09

Claims by Steve Webb, Liberal Democrat Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, that the deficit of local Government pension schemes (LGPS) will surpass £60bn next year have been rubbished by public service union Unison.

A new investment approach for pension schemes to us as a practical alternative to LDI has been developed by LCP

Pension transfer cases must be reviewed by IFAs as a priority, particularly to ensure clear documentation of all advice, says MetLife

The Government has issued amended draft regulations today regarding the 2012 pensions reform changes

Despite doubt over their suitability for the UK pensions market, variable annuities are set to grow in popularity in the next few years, says Sun Life Financial of Canada

The majority of employers believe that compulsion is the only solution to the UK’s pension crisis

The Government’s workplace pension reforms have taken a further step forward with the rebranding of Personal Accounts to NEST

The average DB pension fund trustee board enjoyed returns of around 15 per cent, according to initial estimates by State Street Investment Analytics

The average UK pension fund recorded an average weighted return of 14.0 per cent for 2009 according to estimates by BNY Mellon Asset Servicing

Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt have finally completed their merger, first announced in June last year, to create a global professional services company to be known as Towers Watson.

The ABI has proposed that the current age limit for buying an annuity is raised from 75 to 80 in a newly published paper

The pension scheme risk transfer market has been bolstered by a flood of activity in the fourth quarter of 2009, bringing 2009’s buy-ins total to £4bn and longevity swaps up to £3.5bn.

The deficit for the 200 largest UK pension schemes has tipped the balance at £103bn, a record figure

An body to come up with solutions to the unfunded public sector pension problem has been launched

Following TPR's statement that trustees must be careful when considering ETV exercises, Hewitt Associates

The FSA has set out proposals for removing commission bias from the GPP market, alongside its RDR

The DWP will not be taking any further action on CDC schemes, a response to its consultation on risk sharing

‘Generation Y’ is beginning to grasp the importance of saving for retirement, according to research by Friends Provident

The Pensions Age Spring Conference: Coming out of the dark has now launched and is free to pension funds

Searches for UK managers have risen again in the first three quarters of 2009 compared to those in 2008

The Government has announced in the Pre-Budget Report 2009 that it is adjusting some of the pension reforms

The Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced that restrictions on pensions tax relief have been extended

A third of schemes are looking to use enhanced transfer values (ETVs) as the stigma wears off

The PPF's latest 7800 Index has shown that the aggregate funding position of almost 7,400 DB funds has improved

Improvement to post-retirement solutions will be thrust further onto the industry’s radar by increasing DC retirees

Including offshore-domiciled funds in the UK’s IMA sector will shake up the emerging market funds industry

Pensioners will lose out on £3.3bn over 20 years if their right to the OMO is not exercised, warns PICA

While trustees have improved covenant monitoring, better access is still necessary for them to identify risk factors

FTSE companies have been delivered more gloomy news over their pension schemes with a warning from Aon

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published a revised guidance on internal controls for consultation

JLT has acquired HSBC Actuaries and Consultants Limited (HACL) for £27.25 million in cash

Mn Services has announced that it is to partner the Pension Management Institute’s (PMI) Fiduciary Management Specialist Industry Sector (SIS)

Despite a quiet 2009 for the buyout market the outlook is good, according to Pension Capital Strategies.

The Government must support workplace pensions by issuing more long-dated and index-linked gilts

Aviva has announced the updated structure that its UK business will take from 1 January 2010

Vodafone has announced that it is set to close its final salary pension scheme next April

The UK’s “over-prescriptive and complicated” pensions legislation must be simplified, says Mercer

Global emerging markets remain a favourite investment for many UK pension funds due to global market volatility

TPR latest campaign, launched today (24 November 2009), focuses on ‘keeping pension safe’

Structured product providers have merged to create the UK Structured Products Association

The pension liabilities of FTSE 350 companies could be collectively overstated or understated by up to £40bn

Chancellor Alistair Darling should overhaul pensions rules to allow surplus, unused pension savings of one generation to be passed down to another to bolster subsequent generations’ retirements, says Hornbuckle Mitchell

Consumer appetite for a guaranteed retirement product is on the up, according to research by AEGON

The UK’s combined defined contribution (DC) pension pot dropped by £18bn over October to £489bn, according to estimates from Aon Consulting

Company remuneration should be aligned with the long-term interests of shareholders including pension funds, says the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) in a letter to the chairmen of Britain’s top 350 companies

Britain is letting down its elderly members of the public, say 70 per cent of Brits, and three-quarters believe a substantial increase in the basic state pension is necessary, according to a survey by Club Vita

Forty-three per cent of pension schemes do not have an overall risk-mitigation strategy, finds HamishWilson in the second round of results from its recent pension fund survey

The High Court has clarified pensions law with a ruling that trustees cannot rely on the Pension Protection Fund’s (PPF) promise of a safety net when it comes to making decisions about their scheme

Mn Services Investment Management UK has announced that it has been awarded its first appointment as fiduciary manager by the Macmillan Cancer Support Pension Scheme, subject to contract

The return delivered to self-invested personal pension (SIPP) and small self-administered schemes (SSAS) investors on cash accounts are still unacceptably low, warn Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) in a survey run by Investec Private Bank

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has proposed improvements for the 2011/12 levy year which reflect changes to the Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) methodology, used to measure insolvency risk for the PPF, and industry feedback

The Government’s latest draft of reforms due in 2012 require a ‘further injection of common sense’ before they can feasibly work in the real world, warns the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF)

The vast majority of trustees and sponsors are finally looking at de-risking as a priority for their schemes, but many still struggle to develop governance structures to help them do so, says Mercer

Insolvencies in England and Wales still remain at “unprecedented levels” and pension fund trustees must remain vigilant by monitoring their employer covenant and finding ways to improve their scheme’s position, says Jonathan Land, partner and pensions credit advisory leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has revealed that its deficit has risen to £1.2bn but that its protection framework has remained resilient through the recession, in its latest annual accounts report for 2008/09.

Pension funds appear to be receiving mixed messages about whether or not they should invest in commercial property, following recent statements from consultants and fund managers on the asset class.

The UK manufacturing industry is waving goodbye to defined benefit (DB) pension schemes, with 62 per cent now closed to new members and a further 14 per cent closed to future accrual, says EEF and CPH Consulting.

Risk transfer deals for final salary pension schemes reached their highest ever total value in the third quarter of 2009, according to Hymans Robertson.

BNY Mellon has finally purchased Insight Investment Management Limited from the Lloyds Banking Group for £235m.

Northern Trust and the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) have joined forces to update their custody guide, Custody Made Simple.

Politicians must create an independent commission to examine affordability issues over local authority pensions, says Anthony Mayer, chairman of the London Pension Fund Authority

A new communication strategy needs to be introduced in the pre-retirement stage in order to prevent retirees taking on a poor value annuity, says the Pensions Income Choice Association (PICA)

Just when you thought the gloom was starting to lift from the pensions sector, new research from AXA shows that pensioner poverty is set to rise, with 64 per cent of UK workers expecting to rely on the state pension

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) has echoed concerns raised by Xafinity Consulting with research showing that pension liabilities disclosed in accounts have increased by around 25 per cent over the last six months

A third of literature dished out to pension scheme members is in breach of legislative requirements, or shows signs of poor practice, according to the results of an investigation by The Pensions Regulator (TPR)

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has welcomed the publication of the results of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Personal Accounts Delivery Authority’s (PADA) consultation

The UK’s pension liabilities will hit £1,204bn by the end of 2009, despite substantial improvements in global equity markets, warns Xafinity Consulting

UK investors have tipped emerging markets as the top performer over the coming years, according to research by Ignis Asset Management

There is still light at the end of the defined benefit (DB) tunnel, says Hewitt Associates, as closure is not the only option for these schemes

Investor appetite has swung back in favour of riskier assets over the last six months, with 55 per cent now overweight in risk assets compared to only 17 per cent six months ago, according to research by Schroders

Help will be available for trustees when they come to review their investment governance arrangements and compliance with the Myners Principles from Mercer, with the launch of its investment governance assessment service

A negative Retail Price Index (RPI) will hit pensioners hard, effectively wiping an average £900 off a £12,800 per annum pension between 2008 and 2010, warns Hewitt Associates

Alternative assets should soon come back onto the radars of institutional investors, says BlackRock, despite problems experienced in 2008

The Institute of Directors (IoD) has added fuel to the default retirement age (DRA) debate by declaring that it should rise to 70 as soon as reasonably practical

Despite levels of activity lower than those in 2008, the UK buyout market has remained active and is on a long-term upward curve, reports Mercer

Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS) in England and Wales saw a drop of 19 per cent (£24bn) in asset values during 2008/09

Yvette Cooper, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, has warned that any future changes to the current plans for pensions reform would damage retirement savings in the UK

The Government should reconsider the law to make it easier for employers to communicate with their employees when it comes to pensions, says the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF)

The Freedom SIPP Limited (TFSL), a self-invested personal pension (SIPP) provider, has been wound up in a High Court judgement for non payment of tax

A lifestyling approach to investment in defined contribution (DC) default funds is still the best solution for most people, according to a group of pensions experts surveyed by the NAPF and PensionsDCisions

The legislation governing self invested personal pensions (SIPPs) should be stripped down to its simplest form, says Suffolk Life’s John Moret, on the twentieth anniversary of the Joint Office Memorandum 101 (Memo 101).

The gender gap is widening, with just 47 per cent of women saving sufficiently for retirement compared to 59 per cent of men, according to Scottish Widows.

Defined benefit (DB) scheme trustees must take control of investment strategy or risk taking responsibility for a 20 per cent loss on pension benefits for around 15,000 people, warns Hewitt Associates.

Conflicts of interest still exist for the majority of FTSE 100 final salary pension schemes because they have not appointed an independent chairman to their board of trustees, according to research from Trustee GAAPS.

Despite eighty-nine per cent of fund managers agreeing that climate change is an important investment issue, obstacles such as short-term analysis and lack of demand from pension funds and other clients prevents them from addressing it, says FairPensions

The next two to three years will see the end of defined benefit (DB) pension provision to all employees within the majority of FTSE 350 companies, predicts Pension Capital Strategies Limited (PCS)

Less than half of private sector employees view pensions as the best way to save for their retirement, according to research carried out by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and BlackRock

The relationship between Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs) manufacturers and distributors could be negatively impacted by recommendations in the Financial Services Authority’s (FSA) thematic review of small SIPP providers should they be adopted in their current form, warns Suffolk Life

Aviva has given its support to the idea of granting early access to pension savings to make them more flexible and attractive to UK savers

Shadow Chancellor George Osborne has announced that should a Conservative Government be elected, the UK can expect a review of the current State Pension Age, with a view to raise it for men to age 66 by 2016

Failure to comply with terms to improve benefits of final salary pension scheme as they are set out in scheme rules could lead to members losing out on benefits they believed they were entitled to, warns the pensions team at City law firm, Wedlake Bell

FTSE 100 companies could face up to an extra £26bn of unnecessary pension liabilities due to differing life expectancy valuations, according to Hewitt

UK Local Authority (LA) pension funds have lost £31bn on their investments between 2007 and 2009, according to global class action services specialist, GOAL Group

The Actuarial Profession has replaced its code of conduct with a new simpler version, setting out the professional and ethical standards that actuaries are expected to adhere to at all times

Aon Consulting’s latest Aon200 index records have shown that the combined pension funding position for the 200 largest UK privately sponsored defined benefit (DB) schemes have improved by £16bn to a deficit of £62bn

Forty-two per cent of Brits believe the Government is responsible for providing them with a retirement income, and 45 per cent of women agree it is up to politicians, according to a survey by Home & Capital Advisers

Gaudi, a new pension administration service, has entered the Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) arena with a product aimed at pulling in the ‘Facebook’ generation

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has announced plans to reduce the cap on its levy to 0.5 per cent, and has reduced the levy scaling factor from 2.22 to 1.64

Pensions Age has learned that Rockingham Retirement is to launch a new annuity replacement product aimed at the “common man”

Insurance company Paternoster, which takes on the risks from defined benefit (DB) pension schemes, is to lose 24 employees in a business restructure, and is to inject £5 million of new capital into the Group to ensure it is able to write new business in the future

In a move towards the anticipated review of the default retirement age (DRA) by the Government in 2010, the High Court has dismissed a legal challenge by Heyday – a division of Age Concern - that it is unlawful to force an employee over the age of 65 to retire

Solvency II has pushed interest in the ‘non-buyout’ pension solution for defined benefit (DB) schemes because of growing industry concern surrounding the European directive, reports Occupational Pensions Trusts (OPT)

Pension trustees should reconsider the inclusion of active equity investment because of its potential to deliver exceptional returns, says Hewitt Associates

The Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) news that auto-enrolment will be phased in over three years has been largely welcomed by the pensions industry, although concerns over complacency have been voiced be several commentators

The Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (PADA) has officially begun its search for a chair to head up the Personal Accounts trustee corporation

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed that its flagship private pension saving scheme, Personal Accounts, will not be in full operation until October 2016

The recession will delay retirement by an average of six years for 40 per cent of workers in the UK, according to Aon Consulting.

Straight-through processing (STP) should be a basic requirement for trustees when it comes to the administration of defined contribution (DC) pension plans, says Mercer

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has responded to calls from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) that the 2010/11 PPF levy be scrapped to effectively save defined benefit (DB) pension-providing companies

Almost half of UK workers have never reviewed their pension plans, despite increasing concerns from the industry that contributions are not adequate for a comfortable retirement, warns Baring Asset Management (Barings)

The Government must listen to the industry when it comes to pension reform, particularly when it comes to recommendations from the Centre for Policy Studies, says London & Colonial

The Pension Protection Fund’s (PPF) levy for 2010/11 should be scrapped immediately, according to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), as a solution to the problems it is causing for firms that offer defined benefit (DB) pension schemes

Marks & Spencer plc and Kellogg’s are just two of the seven companies to be awarded the new Pension Quality Mark following its launch by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF)

The Government has announced the launch of a Section 75 Consultation, following claims that the employer debt rules stand in the way of business restructure, and is considering plans to make them more straightforward

Questions that employers can expect to be faced with when talking to employees about pensions have been set out in guidelines by the Pensions Regulator (TPR) and the Financial Services Authority (FSA), in the jointly published Guide for employers: talking to your employees about pensions

UK employees retiring in 2009 may be forced to live on less than half of the average yearly wage, according to Aon Consulting

The total deficit of FTSE 250 pension schemes has doubled in the last 12 months to £12bn, according to research by Pension Capital Strategies and Cazenove

The industry group set up to raise awareness of the Open Market Option (OMO) at retirement has been renamed the Pension Income Choice Association (PICA)

The framing of retirement planning rules should be removed from the political arena and handed over to an independent body if the UK is to ever solve the pensions ‘crisis’, according to Paul Jayson, a partner at consulting actuarial firm Barnett Waddingham.

The European Commission (EC) must wait for the outcome of the Committee of European Securities Regulators’ (CESR) review of UCITS depositaries in Member States before it finalises improvements and clarity on the depositary’s role, says the Investment Management Association (IMA)

Community Union, which is currently embroiled in a dispute with UK steel giant Corus over the future of its pension scheme, has condemned employers for using the recession as an excuse to close final salary pension schemes

Proposals by Ofgem to reduce pension costs are “inconsistent with government policy and guaranteed to cause industrial unrest if pursued”, warns the union for 21,000 energy professionals, Prospect

Performance fees on equity funds, absolute return vehicles, fixed interest and the property sector are expected to rise over 2009, according to Skandia Investment Group (SIG)

Uptake of defined contribution (DC) pension schemes is not growing at a fast enough rate to fill the gap defined benefit (DB) closure has left, resulting in two thirds of the private sector workforce not having a pension, says the Trades Union Congress (TUC)

A one year freeze of the basic state pension and the minimum income guarantee (MIG), and an increase of a third in employee contributions to all unfunded public sector pension schemes would contribute almost £4,000million from 2010-11 onwards in savings, according to the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) and the Institute of Directors (IoD)

The Trades Union Congress’ (TUC) seventh annual PensionsWatch survey has found that the average pension pot of 373 directors of the 103 top UK companies surveyed is £3.4million, providing an average annual pension payout of £247,785 a year – a 23 per cent rise from last year

Half of the over 55s are planning to stay in semi-retirement for a longer period of time than the previous generation because they cannot afford to stop working completely, according to Heartwood Wealth Management.

Larger Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPP) are likely to feel the force of the Financial Services Authority’s (FSA) thematic review of small SIPP providers, warns Mattioli Woods

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the Association of British Insurers (ABI) are to launch a pension calculator to help the third of people who research has found may face financial difficulties in retirement.

Research has indicated that pension scheme trustees are heeding the Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) advice in taking a more pro-active and in-depth approach to reviewing their sponsoring employer’s covenant, says Mercer

If implemented in its present form, the European Union’s (EU) Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) directive will seriously restrict pension funds' ability to make the most of their global investments, warns the UK's Investment Management Association (IMA)

The scheme liabilities of the 7,400 defined benefit (DB) pension schemes in the Pension Protection Fund’s (PPF) eligible universe has topped £1trn for the first time

It seems UK taxpayers should be as, if not more, concerned about the growth in the number of private sector employees with no pension as spiralling public sector pensions, warns the Trades Union Congress (TUC)

An improved model of engagement is necessary to encourage defined contribution (DC) scheme members to better tailor their investment strategies and suit their individual needs for retirement, says Watson Wyatt

The Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (PADA) has revealed that its General Counsel position will be taken up by Nick Carter

People in the UK who currently have no retirement savings can expect to retire anytime between 74 and 86, calculates Standard Life

The number of complaints about pensions dropped by 76 per cent between the first half of 2006 and the second half of 2008, according to the Financial Services Authority (FSA)

Scottish Widows has teamed up with the Institute of Financial Planning (IFP) to offer better guidance when it comes to financial planning within the workplace, following research from its fifth annual Scottish Widows Pensions Report

Half of UK defined benefit (DB) pension schemes have thrown caution to the wind and abandoned the idea of having a long-term strategy in place to reduce risks, says Hymans Robertson and the PensionChair Network

Multi-asset pension portfolios must be able to move in and out of asset classes quickly to make the most of diversification, says Barings Asset Management

The figure for the combined liabilities of all the final salary pension schemes in the UK has tipped over the £1 trillion mark

Pensions are considered untrustworthy by 70 per cent of people in the UK, with a generation divide showing younger people to be more positive about retirement income than older, says PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC)

Yet another company has announced plans to close its final salary pension scheme, causing a threat of industrial action from steel union Community

The judgment by the Court of Appeals to overrule a decision made last year by a tribunal has shifted the focus of pensions law, says Faith Dickson, partner at Sacker & Partners LLP

A new investment fund sector, the Deposit & Treasury sector, has been created by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) in response to demand for stability of capital

The recession has forced more than a third of people over age 55 to defer their retirement plans and continue working, says MGM Advantage

Most investors lack ‘genuine diversity’ in their portfolios and should look to include insurance-linked instruments in their allocation strategies, according to Watson Wyatt

Implementation of the European Union’s (EU) Solvency II framework directive could damage pension provision when it comes to annuity business, warns Mercer

The UK’s biggest trade union, Unite, has said that the Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) defined benefit (DB) pension scheme changes are a “body blow” to the bank’s 60,000-strong workforce

The Government must do more to encourage retirement saving, according to 87 per cent of Brits in a Hymans Robertson survey.

Seventy-three per cent of companies do not offer pension salary sacrifice, and are therefore missing out on the significant cost savings that these programmes can generate, says Mercer.

Pension fund executives are questioning their management processes and the level of accountability available through the traditional investment consulting model, says SEI’s Global Quick Poll of pension executives in the UK

A return to a high inflationary environment could prove lethal to retirement funds, effectively wiping out pensioner incomes, warns Rockingham Retirement

The panic surrounding pensions seems to easing amongst British workers, with Aon Consulting reporting a nine per cent fall in the number of scheme members requesting their projected pension based on current savings

The pace at which the group self-invested personal pension (G-SIPP) market is growing could cause problems for the Financial Services Authority (FSA), according to Suffolk Life’s director of sales and marketing, John Moret

Fifty-five per cent of pension administrators have seen an increase in cash allocation to their clients’ self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs), says Investec Private Bank

Variable annuities have seen continued demand with only a seven per cent fall in the second quarter of 2009, despite difficult sales conditions, says Watson Wyatt

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has clarified its rules applying to activist shareholders hoping to promote effective corporate governance in companies in which they have invested

Encouraging a savings culture in the UK has been made harder by constant changes to tax rules, according to AXA Winterthur Wealth Management

The Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (PADA) has announced the development of a ‘myth busting’ programme to clarify aspects of the 2012 changes to the pensions landscape

A backlash is on the cards at software and services provider IBM over plans to close its final salary pension scheme to future accrual and to alter the terms of its early retirement scheme, warns Unite

The number of companies fortunate enough to provide defined benefit (DB) pension schemes is predicted to halve by 2012, warns Watson Wyatt

Professional independent trustees are seeing increased enquiries and appointments to a wide range of occupational schemes since the economic downturn, says Independent Trustee Services Ltd (ITS).

FTSE 100 companies are set to spend more on pension promises to former employees than they are on current employees’ benefits within the near future, warns KPMG.

The audit, tax and advisory services provider has found in its latest annual pension survey, the Pensions Repayment Monitor, that 22 per cent of FTSE 100 firms have no hope of clearing pension deficits from discretionary cash flow in the foreseeable future

Further evidence that the bulk annuity market has continued to falter has come from Hymans Robertson, with the firm’s latest analysis of the pension scheme de-risking market showing that £600million worth of buyout and buy-in deals were completed in the second quarter of 2009

Bank of New York Mellon Corporation is to acquire Insight Investment Management in a deal worth £235million.
Insight Investment, currently part of the Lloyds banking group, which specialises in liability driven investment (LDI) solutions, active fixed income and alternatives, has assets under management of approximately £80bn

Trustees of the Yell pension scheme have been found guilty of maladministration in a case upheld by the deputy pensions ombudsman (DPO), which could lead to future conflict between sponsors and pension scheme trustees

Traditional investment and pensions models are under threat as a result of the recent financial crisis, says Penrose Financial

Eighty-five per cent of pension schemes would not have sufficient assets to provide members with benefits above the Pension Protection Fund’s (PPF) compensation levels, were their employers to become insolvent tomorrow, warns Watson Wyatt

Changes to scheme valuation assumptions, as announced by the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) in July, will most likely benefit the same type of schemes as last year’s changes, says Barnett Waddingham

Friends Provident has reportedly caved in to takeover offers from investment firm Resolution with news of a £1.86bn deal struck between the two

The bulk annuity market has continued to drop, with a 32 per cent reduction in the value of deals done in the second quarter of 2009 in comparison to the previous quarter, says Aon Consulting

ITV could be set to make yet further proposals to change its struggling final salary pension plan following the release of performance figures which showed that the scheme is now in deficit by £538 million

Occupational Pensions Trusts (OPT) reacts positively to the Pension Protection Fund's (PPF) announcement that it proposes to change the assumptions underpinning scheme valuations

Changes to the minimum retirement age for a registered pension scheme, which will increase from 50 to 55 from 6 April 2010, must be considered now by self-invested personal pension (SIPP) and small self administered schemes (SSAS), says Premier Retirement Services

Take-up of the open market option (OMO) could be pushed forward by the introduction of the new Solvency II regulations, new European rules for insurers, says MGM Advantage

Principles-based charging should be attached to non-adviser group personal pensions (GPP) business, and adviser charging to individual advice on GPP, says Friends Provident

The pension risk transfer market could write more than £10bn of business in 2009, estimates Pension Corporation

A post-General Election review of public sector pensions is necessary before reforms are considered for MPs' pensions, says the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA)

It seems poor health really can equal great wealth with new figures from Rockingham Retirement showing that an enhanced annuity, available to unwell pensioners, can boost a client's retirement income by 80 per cent.

The UK's largest firms are feeling the strain of huge pension deficits according to the latest figures on FTSE 100 and FTSE 350 schemes

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has updated its consultation on the long-term future of the levy, and has announced that it will establish a group to help develop its proposals

Accessing a pension scheme's details via a mobile phone is now possible, thanks to the implementation of new technology by the Bluefin group.

Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS) could turn to hybrid pension schemes in an effort to secure their future, says Hymans Robertson.

The Pensions Regulator's (TPR) statement on higher standards for defined contribution (DC) pensions has been welcomed by the industry for its moves towards further flexibility in engaging employees in DC plans

Current pension scheme accounting standards encourage short-term investment attitudes and need to be changed, according to the Marathon Club

Fifty-three per cent of the UK's working population, around 18.7 million people, has no idea when they will be financially able to retire, says a new report from Baring Asset Management (Barings)

FTSE 100 company directors will be paying more than £50,000 a year in additional tax from 2011 until they retire due to tax relief changes in the 2009 Budget, says Lane Clark & Peacock LLP (LCP)

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined three arms of the HSBC brand £3millon for information security failings

Personal Accounts will become the benchmark for the pensions industry, says Legal & General Investment Management (L&G)

Cost controls and competing demands from defined benefit (DB) schemes are causing the majority of pension fund fiduciaries to fail in meeting their governance targets for defined contribution (DC) schemes, warns Watson Wyatt

It seems the long-standing 'shop around for annuities' message has failed to hit home with Aviva opting to tackle the issue head on with the launch of television and press adverts focusing on the Open Market Option (OMO)

Trustees of the British Airways pension fund have reportedly been persuaded to release bank guarantees of £330million to the ailing company should it need the funds

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has announced that its 12-week consultation on its trustee knowledge and understanding (TKU) code of practice and scope guidance has shown widespread report for the TKU regime

The Government has brought forward plans to review the UK's default retirement age, which allows employers to force certain staff to retire at the age of 65, to 2010, a move that has been largely welcomed by the industry

Boards of banks and other financial institutions need to make substantial changes to the way they function, particularly when it comes to boosting the role of non-executives in the risk and remuneration process, says Sir David Walker's Review

The biggest ever pensions buy-in deal has been agreed upon between Rothesay Life and the RSA Insurance Group plc in a £1.9bn transaction

Cost and quality are the top concerns for pension schemes when it comes to administration, says Hewitt Associates

Forty-six per cent of employers would like to see a simplification of the salary exchange rules from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), says AWD Chase de Vere Consulting

The benefits to firms of cancelling defined benefit (DB) accrual for all employees will take time to filter through to and impact on pensions deficits, warns Towers Perrin

Lord Adair Turner has said that the recommendations he made in his 2005 review of the pensions system were not "radical" enough, particularly in relation to the state pension age

Employers in the UK are saving up to £4.53bn a year due to the continuing demise of final salary pension schemes, according to MGM Advantage

Equities have slid down the popularity scale for pension funds as deficits soar to £73bn at the end of June 2009, says Aon

Pensions savings have increased since last year, with an increase in those saving of eight per cent since 2006, says Scottish Widows

Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) could face investigation and fines in 2009/10 if urgent transfer reviews processes, product solution, and audit trails are not employed, says Defaqto

A new code of practice on the transfer of risk in a changing landscape, through buy-ins or partial buy-outs, has been published for trustees, advisers and sponsors by the Pensions Regulator (TPR)

Some retirees are being forced to wait ten weeks for a simple fund transfer to take place when exercising the open market annuity option, says The Annuity Clearing House (ACH)

The UK's public sector pension liabilities have climbed to a huge 85 per cent of GDP, or £1,177bn, warns the British-North American Committee (BNAC)

The retirement market is in need of a fresh approach with an independent review of the decumulation sector, warns a new report by the Association of Independent Financial Advisers (AIFA) and Prudential UK

The UK's first longevity swap could be a wolf in sheep's clothing, harbouring problems for pension schemes looking for full buy-outs in the future, warns Occupational Pensions Trusts (OPT)

Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt are to merge to form Towers Watson & Co., creating a company 'stronger than the sum of its parts'

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has thrown down the gauntlet to the financial advisory community, saying it needs to start thinking how it will implement 'far-reaching' changes by 2012 - as set out in its consultation paper on the Retail Distribution Review (RDR)

Widespread pay freezes and cuts in wages paid by private sector companies should be properly reflected in proposed rises in the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) levy, says Occupational Pensions Trusts (OPT)

Sixty per cent of over 50s are concerned their pensions and savings will not last them through retirement, creating a new generation of 'baby gloomers' financing both themselves and their children, says Aviva

British workers in defined contribution (DC) schemes could receive around £40,000 a year less into their pensions in comparison to their colleagues in defined benefit (DB) schemes, says Prudential

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published a statement stressing the importance of cautious funding levels for pension schemes, and reassuring sponsors in difficulty that flexibility is available in recovery plans

The UK could benefit from a consistent national pension policy if the Government continues to adjust the department that has responsibility for pension planning, says AWD Chase de Vere Consulting

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) has published research showing that companies are planning radical changes to defined benefit (DB) pension provision, ironically on the same day as the Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published guidance reinforcing the protection of existing DB benefits

Employers must limit the impact the credit crunch has on their pension provision, and reduce the responsibility of financial security placed upon individual employees, warns Friends Provident

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has revealed that its 2010/11 pension protection levy estimate has been set at £700million, indexed to wages

Asset managers worldwide are divided over the future of their industry after the credit crisis passes, according to an independent study from CREATE-Research

Aon Consulting's latest assessment of pensions shows that although the UK's defined contribution (DC) pension assets have steadily increased during the past three months, a further nine months of these conditions are necessary to return them to 2007 levels

The current economic recession is placing an increasing strain on the role of member nominated trustees (MNTs) to pension schemes, where the risk of placing interests as employees or union representatives above duty of care towards existing pension fund beneficiaries is growing, warns Trustee GAAPS

The life insurance and pensions industry will see huge changes over the next ten years as it works to accommodate the retirement of the baby boomer generation, says State Street

Investment strategy must be handled with care when it comes to buy-ins, particularly when it comes to managing inflation risk, says Mercer

The Actuarial Profession has published a prototype model to project future mortality rates for consultation

The discarding of proposed amendments to the Finance Bill is a disappointment and means the new rules are a violation of the 2006 Simplifications of Pensions promises, says Dentons

Disgraced Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) former chief executive, Sir Fred Goodwin, has agreed to drastically reduce his controversial annual pension benefit

Capita Hartshead has acquired Gissings Holdings Ltd in a transaction for an undisclosed amount

Mike Sullivan is to stand down as chairman of the Pensions Management Institute (PMI) Trustee Group Committee and as chairman of the PMI Trustee Group Seminars

Proposed changes to IAS19 could have an adverse effect on companies with large pension schemes and large equity exposure, warns Lane Clark & Peacock (LCP)

Public service reform is being held back by a lack of a level playing field between the public and private sectors when it comes to pensions, warns the Confederation of British Industry (CBI)

The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has chosen Lindsay Tomlinson to be its new chairman. He will replace Christopher Hitchen on 16 October 2009

The benefits of Personal Accounts remain an enigma to 57 per cent of employees surveyed by JLT Benefit Solutions (JLT) for their second report on the UK's attitude to the national savings scheme

Pension trustee governance models are out of date as they discourage swift decision making and so harm scheme prospects

Changes to pensions taxation outlined in the Budget 2009 will have a negative impact on pension saving, says the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF)

UK government has allowed public sector pension liabilities to run "out of control", claims Policy Exchange

The UK could be hit by a 'perfect storm' of financial, individual and demographic elements if people do not close the 'preparedness gap' by planning for retirement as soon as possible, says an HSBC report

Financial challenges pose the greatest risks to pension schemes, with investment strategy, scheme funding and non-compliance with legislation the top three worries for trustees, according to Capita Hartshead's 16th Annual Pensions Administration Survey

Pension Insurance Corporation has announced that it has agreed to insure retired pensioners and liabilities valued at £57million in its first buy-in agreement with the trustees of the Warwick International Group Pension Scheme

The UK's defined benefit (DB) pension schemes have improved their estimated funding positions by £9.2bn, to a deficit of £179.3bn at end-May 2009 according to the Pension Protection Fund's (PPF) latest PPF7800 index

A worrying 80 per cent of 50-year-olds expect to claim on their private pensions next year, despite changes to the rules which will see them forced to wait another five years, warns Rockingham Retirement

More pension schemes will close to future defined benefit (DB) accrual over 2009 than ever before, according to Hewitt Associates

Proposed DWP regulations on auto-enrolment opt-outs from Personal Account pension schemes are causing concern over the burden of wasteful box-ticking that will be placed on employers

The market for transferring pension scheme risk to an insurance company will fall by half to £4bn this year because of the financial crisis according to a report by Lane Clark & Peacock LLP (LCP), leading consultant actuaries

The UK could be facing a £689bn pensions black-hole by the end of 2009 if companies do not wake up to their current position, warns Xafinity Corporate Solutions

Trustees and scheme sponsors have dramatically different views on the evermore relevant issue of de-risking pension funds, says MetLife Assurance Limited

A radical rethink is necessary on the Department for Work and Pensions'' (DWP) consultation on auto-enrolment rules, as they could lead to high costs for employers and the leveling down of existing pension provision, warns the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF)

In response to a growing demand for alternatives to buy-outs, which are less feasible in the current uncertain market, Mercer has developed a more flexible solution

The introduction of auto-enrolment may just prove to be the push companies need to increase their pension scheme membership, with over 40 per cent of respondents to Capita Hartshead's sixteenth Annual Pensions Administration Survey saying they plan to auto-enrol all employees into their company scheme before 2012

Independent insurance broker Rockingham Retirement is to team up with life firms Prudential, L&G and MGM to form The Annuity Clearing House (ACH), a specialist independent financial adviser (IFA) service that allows them access to a range of annuity products to suit clients' needs

Enhanced annuities have continued to steal the limelight, with sales in the first quarter of 2009 reaching £443 million, 9.3 per cent higher than the previous quarter, says Watson Wyatt

Greater scrutiny on failures in corporate governance and the collapse of the financial system are likely to push pension funds further towards becoming more engaged shareholders, warns Watson Wyatt

Personal Accounts, due for introduction in 2012, could be helped by the reduced tax relief announced in the Budget 2009, says HamishWilson

Monitoring pension schemes is the best way for trustees to work towards recovering money that belongs to them through US class actions in UK pension schemes, according to an industry debate

UK businesses are at a "severe competitive disadvantage" in Europe due to weaknesses in private and state pension systems, says Aon Consulting

Defined contribution (DC) pension scheme assets have increased for the second consecutive month by ten per cent, to a combined total of £418bn, according to Aon Consulting

A third of people approaching retirement believe that investing in their pension has been a waste of money, according to research by MetLife

Fifty per cent of trustees admit that they would prefer certainty when it comes to administration costs

Two sides to the buy-out market have been presented this week, with Hymans Robertson presenting a positive reflection of the £0.9bn of deals, while Aon Consulting warns that the market is feeling the strain with deals down by 50 per cent on the previous quarter

Trustees for schemes that are winding up under the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) will be supported and assisted by Punter Southall, following a decision by the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) to appoint the consulting actuaries and administrators

The number of defined contribution (DC) and defined benefit (DB) members seeking retirement quotes has risen by 56 per cent in the last year, according to Aon Consulting

British Telecom (BT) has decided to take radical and swift action over its £4bn final salary scheme pension deficit, by committing to an annual £525million cash injection over the next three years, following the publication of its latest results

Concerns that trustees may rush in to buy longevity swaps without careful consideration have been raised following Babcock International Group's decision to insure the longevity risk of their pension schemes' members

The Investment Management Association (IMA) is calling for an overhaul of the sterling corporate bond market, following the publication of its commissioned report, The Impact of the Credit Crunch on the Sterling Corporate Bond Market

Employers are potentially losing out on £10 million of savings by not making use of salary sacrifice opportunities, according to B&CE Benefit Schemes

A landmark agreement has been reached over the first full transfer of longevity risk from a pension scheme's balance sheet with a pensions longevity swap

The latest PPF 7800 Index has estimated that the funding position of some 7,400 defined benefit (DB) pension schemes has improved over the last month, and now stands at a deficit of £188.5bn

The Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (PADA) has responded to claims made by Punter Southall that the national pension saving scheme is set to fail

The Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (PADA) has launched its consultation paper on investment practice for the national pension savings scheme

Proposed changes to pension taxation as outlined in the Government's 2009 Budget could undermine corporate pension provision, putting them at further risk, warns Hewitt Associates

The Pension Protection Fund's (PPF) efforts to implement a solution to the failure of insolvency practitioners (IPs) to advise them and the Pensions Regulator (TPR) about pension schemes of insolvent companies is not 'foolproof', warns Alexander Forbes Trustee Services

American investment and insurance group the Hartford has announced that it is withdrawing from the UK variable annuity market and closing its London office with immediate effect, as a result of current and forecast market conditions

£120bn of losses are hidden by the FRS 17 accounting standards following the financial crisis, says Aon Consulting

Even a trebling of company contributions compared to the level seen in 2007 will be insufficient in preventing the average recovery plan of a FTSE350 defined benefit pension scheme extending beyond 15 years

Employee job security should come before pensions, says Mercer. The financial consultant is calling on the Government and the Pensions Regulator (TPR) to amend legislation, and allow companies at risk of insolvency to defer contributions to a pension scheme

Trustees who are demanding more cash from their sponsors in an effort to meet funding targets are paying the price for their previous caution in relation to scheme contributions, says PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC)

The collapse in manufacturing and car production in the Midlands has resulted in the region providing the largest amount of members on the Pension Protection Fund's (PPF) books, according to Aon Consulting

Administration costs pushed UK pension scheme accounts up by 20 per cent in 2008, according to Watson Wyatt's annual Pension Scheme Cost Survey

The Budget's new pension tax relief restrictions on those with paycheques of over £150,000 a year have already been imposed although these rules have been publicised by the Government as due for implementation in 2011, warns Hornbuckle Mitchell

The 2009 Budget has presented high earners with further opportunities to make use of salary sacrifice to boost their pension savings, after Chancellor Alastair Darling announced that those earning over £100,000 will see their personal tax allowance either reduced or simply taken away

The Pensions Regulator's (TPR) soon-to-be implemented new powers have 'hidden' teeth that could threaten to rip into businesses' corporate activity, says law firm Dundas & Wilson

A period of negative inflation could increase the real value of some defined benefit (DB) pension schemes, although sponsoring companies would suffer, says Watson Wyatt

Employee confidence in pensions has slightly improved over the last year, according to the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF)

The chairman of the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), Lawrence Churchill, has hit back at critics of the organisation by saying that "the only thing that is unsustainable is to not have a protection fund at all", at the Pensions Age spring conference

The Pension Protection Fund's (PPF) monthly update for March shows a new record deficit for UK defined benefit (DB) pension schemes, in excess of £250bn

Scheme governance is in urgent need of improvement, says HSBC Actuaries and Consultants (HAC), to ensure that trustees avoid taking poor or biased decisions

87 per cent of trustees have reported that the funding levels of their final salary pension schemes have worsened over the last year, says Aon Consulting

Following news that Aon is to cut its contributions to members' pensions by up to half, Aviva has revealed in its annual report that their defined contribution (DC) pension offerings will no longer be free to members

The FTSE350 deficit has increased from £163bn to £182bn for the first three months of 2009 due to falling asset values and longer-term inflation concerns, according to Hymans Robertson

The value of assets held on UK wrap platforms is set to treble over the next five years to more than £300bn, says Navigant Consultancy

The 2.76million women in the UK who plan to retire in 2009 can expect to receive £6,642 a year less in their annual pensions than men, equivalent to a total income shortfall of more that £42bn, according to Prudential

The costs of keeping those who are no longer employees in a company's defined contribution (DC) pension scheme can no longer be ignored by employers, and will be the next major pensions issues, warns Towers Perrin

The total deficit of FTSE100 pension funds has almost doubled from £124bn at the end of March 2008 to £245bn at the end of March 2009 on an 'economic basis', says Redington Partners

Some Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) may need to double the annuity business they write in order to stay in business, according to recent research from Just Retirement

Automatic lifestyling default funds may be doing more harm than good to pension pots in the current environment, by selling equity and property assets at low levels and then locking investors into gilts and cash, says a pensions IFA

It is only a matter of months before UK pension schemes decide to invest in longevity swaps to protect against their members living longer, predicts Watson Wyatt

The importance of taxpayer support must not be overlooked when it comes to any changes to the rules regarding payments to pensioners from the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) when a scheme transfers into the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), says First Actuarial

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has taken its 100th pension scheme under its wing

Dutch firm Mn Services Investment Management has launched its fiduciary management offering in the UK

Companies have been forced to wipe £46bn off of their year-end accounts due to massive pension losses for the year ending 31 March 2009, says Aon Consulting

MPs may be asked to contribute more towards their pensions to help alleviate the Parliamentary pension scheme's deficit, Harriet Harman, leader of the House of Commons, has announced

Pension schemes will have to brace themselves for increased volatility in their deficit figures, because of quantitative easing, according to pension consultants

Choosing to uninsured commercial property through self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs) in could be putting retirement income at risk, says Oval Insurance Broking

The UK could be subject to massive council tax rises due to spiralling Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) deficits

Members of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes are in a catch-22 situation when it comes to deciding whether to transfer out of their scheme or stay where they are and risk major retirement losses should insolvency hit, says Aon Consulting

Trustees and employers could be on the receiving end of defined contribution (DC) scheme members' wrath and be forced to take the blame for bad investment decisions, warns Wedlake Bell

Over half of pension schemes do not know how their funding position has been affected by the recession, despite over 60 per cent of them receiving quarterly or more frequent updates from actuarial organisations, according to Punter Southall

Pensioners who have opted for income drawdown, allowing them to defer converting their pension pot into an annuity or income for life, have been hit by a drop in the Government Actuary's Department (GAD) rate, says Rockingham Retirement

Pension Corporation (PC) was one of the few firms to have a successful 2008, writing £1.6bn of new insurance business

The financial downturn has forced pension scheme trustees to seek guidance on governance, according to a survey by Hewitt Associates which shows that there was a 50 per cent increase in requests for governance services

2009 retirees can expect to receive £884 a year less than those who retired last year, says Prudential

Cherie Booth QC has been hired by North Yorkshire and Merseyside council pension funds to act as special advisor in their application for lead plaintiff in a class action against RBS in the US courts

Less than a half of UK employees believe their occupational pension fund is safe, and a further quarter have neither a positive nor negative view, according to JLT Benefit Solutions

The vast majority of pension fund trustees remain committed to their responsibilities despite the pressures of the credit crunch, says Aon Consulting

Friends Provident has set aside £217million to cover corporate bond loans, an increase of £127million on 2007's reserve

Four in ten schemes are being pushed towards risk transfer as a result of market volatility, according to MetLife Assurance

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) will release a report this week addressing the current issues in the financial market, such as transparency and accounting, and the issues the system may face in the future

February brought yet more woe for Britain's defined contribution (DC) with asset losses of ten per cent, equivalent of £42bn, according to Aon Consulting

The pensions industry has "done things that have gone wrong," according to Arno Kitts, chairman of the National Association of Pension Funds' (NAPF) Investment Council

The majority of pension funds in the UK are satisfied with their investment consultants, according to the National Association of Pension Funds' (NAPF) latest Assessing Investment Consultants Performance survey

The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has enhanced the guidance available to UK pension schemes with the publication of its Hedge Funds Made Simple document and its updated guidance on responsible investment

Pension funds carry some of the blame for the current financial crisis because of a serious failure in corporate governance, according to public opinion

The annuity product market is in dire need of innovation, and it is time flexibility for consumers came to the fore, says Living Time's Dave Harris

The Bank of England's decision to introduce up to £150bn of quantitative easing into UK capital markets has been detrimental to pension funds, says Hymans Robertson

Pension funds are considering a move to gilts-based funding measures as a result of widening credit spreads, according to a survey by Hewitt Associates

Sponsors and trustees of pension schemes contracted out of the State Second Pension (S2P) must ensure that the new Upper Accrual Point has been taken into account in their payroll systems, scheme rules and member communications, says Mercer

The European Court of Justice has published its decision on the Heyday case, ruling that the UK's default retirement age can be considered legitimate

Many of the people who will be auto-enrolled into pensions from 2012 will be on relatively low incomes, meaning the contribution rates will be lower than the benchmark of eight per cent, says Watson Wyatt

Life and pension product provider Aviva has released its preliminary results for 2008, revealing that life and pensions sales increased by 11 per cent to £36.283m globally

Pension funds were brought to their knees on Monday 2 March with the biggest single day loss on record of £27bn, according to Aon Consulting

The UK's second largest pension fund, the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) Ltd has secured its move into hedge funds with the appointment of its first manager

Almost half of those planning to retire in the next five years do not intend to seek advice on annuity purchases, says MetLife Europe Limited (MetLife)

Two thirds of contract-based defined contribution (DC) pension schemes in the FTSE100 offer members 50 or more investment options, says Watson Wyatt

Aon has called on the Government to re-consider the implementation of its indexation promises in order to help alleviate the pension burden on some of the country's largest employers

Barnett Waddingham and MetLife Assurance have clubbed together to offer buy-out arrangements for small-sized pension schemes

Lord Peter Mandelson has begun his campaign for the part-privatisation of Royal Mail in an attempt to alleviate its pension deficit

Diversification into alternative asset classes remained a popular option for UK pension funds in a disastrous 2008, says Watson Wyatt, with particular attention paid to direct hedge funds and direct private equity

Personal Accounts could put a £3bn bill on the desks of UK companies, says Mercer. The financial consultant is concerned that the new regulations, due for introduction in October 2012 and which will require all businesses to automatically enrol all staff into a qualifying pension plan, will pack a powerful punch to remuneration accounts

The Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) has launched a new transparency initiative, supporting the principle of full transparency and supervisory disclosure of risk exposures and positions by hedge fund managers to their national regulators

Trustee training has taken a backseat for a quarter of respondents to Independent Trustee Services Ltd's (ITS) Survey on Trustee Governance due to time and resource restraints

Defined contribution (DC) pension schemes will come out of the economic crisis in a better position than they went in, says Watson Wyatt

Employees' pensions have been slashed by over a third due to the credit crunch, according to Aon's new defined contribution (DC) Pension Tracker

Group corporate self-invested pension plans (SIPPs) are increasing in popularity among UK businesses, with 27 per cent of respondents to a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) survey saying that they plan to make this their main pension arrangement

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has released a second statement to UK employers who sponsor final salary pension schemes with advice regarding the current economic conditions

Towry Law has added to recent criticism of current defined contribution (DC) pension scheme plans, saying that many are failing to deliver good value to employers and employees

Proposed changes to the International Accounting Standards Board's (IASB) IAS19 - Accounting for Employee Benefits standard, could undermine the future funding of defined benefit (DB) schemes and heap more pressure on the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), says Occupational Pensions Trusts (OPT)

The newly proposed Pension Protection Fund (PPF) Levy calculations will not give credit to pension schemes that have reduced their investment risk through certain liability-driven investment (LDI) strategies, fears PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC)

British Telecom could be landed with a £16.6million Pension Protection Fund (PPF) penalty fine after the European Commission ruled that it had an "unfair competitive advantage" over levy payments

Global pension systems are in dire need of reform in order to alleviate the global financial crisis, according to the Network of Sustainable Financial Markets

Standard Life has announced that it will compensate customers who invested in the Pension Sterling Fund and lost out in the 4.8 per cent fall in unit price, admitting that its Pension Sterling Fund literature has fallen short of its "usual high standards"

The US Private Equity Council (PEC) has published their Guidelines for Responsible Investment, which have been welcomed by the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), the UK's second largest pension fund

Rockingham Retirement has, it hopes, opened a can of worms within the annuity industry and financial advisory space by scrapping its £195 administration fee on all pension funds of £20,000 and under

Buy-out giant Paternoster has been knocked off the top spot in the bulk annuity stakes by Legal & General (L&G), now the market leader by the value of deals it has underwritten

Trustees of pension funds must remain alert as a sharp increase in the number of corporate insolvencies highlights the needs for them to assess their companies' ability to meet their pension commitments, says Watson Wyatt

The pensions industry is split over a newly published report by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that claims that 95 per cent of savers will be better off once auto-enrolment comes into play in 2012

The UK recorded an increase of 31.9 per cent in the sales of enhanced annuities in 2008, taking the total to £1.44bn, say consultants at Watson Wyatt

Hymans Robertson's newly launched pension deficits measure, penSAFE, has shown that the total deficit faced by FTSE350 companies amounts to £163bn

The abolition of the safeguarded rights legislation on 6 April 2009 will benefit divorced people, in particular women, say industry experts

Standard Life has been appointed by BT to develop a Corporate Self Invested Personal Pension (CSIPP) plan in place of its trust based defined contribution (DC) schemes

Standard Life has hit back at allegations that its Pensions Sterling Fund had investments in toxic mortgages

Fewer than twenty per cent of employers believe they are getting full value from the money they spend on their employees' pensions, says Watson Wyatt

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has announced that its next chief executive will be Alan Rubenstein. Although current chief executive Partha Dasgupta does not officially step down until June 2009, Rubenstein will take up the post on 1 April 2009

The self-invested personal pension (SIPP) market has been handed its 'biggest opportunity for some years' by the collapse of defined benefit pension schemes, says Suffolk Life's director of sales and marketing, John Moret

The Paternoster buy-out index suffered hugely in the fourth quarter of 2008 (Q4 2008) as a result of market volatility over the year.
Following news that Paternoster's assets for 2008 hit £2.7bn, the company has found in its report that for schemes which remained heavily exposed to equities, the affordability of buy-out remained unchanged

Standard Life plc has recorded an eleven per cent decrease in pension sales for the year 2008.
The group has also said its UK life and pensions sales of £12.2bn were nine per cent lower than 2007, with the fourth quarter seeing sales of 25 per cent less than 2007

The pension buy-out market for 2009 will match levels reached in 2008, claims Lane Clark & Peacock LLP (LCP)

Decisive action is needed to take trustees out of the "limbo" they are currently caught in over the new trivial commutation rules, according to First Actuarial

Closure of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes is not the only option available to companies caught in the grasp of the credit crunch, says Hewitt Associates

Teachers have chalked up £6.7bn in new pension benefits in the year to 31 March 2008, according to 2007/8 resource accounts for the Teachers' Pension Scheme (England and Wales)

Over half of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes currently open to new members are in danger of closing as a result of the current financial crisis, says the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF)

Norwich Union has announced that it has temporarily deferred settlements on its unit-linked property fund (Life and Pensions)

The value of assets transferred to insurance company Paternoster reached £2.7bn in 2008

The Retail Distribution Review (RDR) will serve to cut the number of independent financial advisers (IFAs) operating in the UK, fear senior insurance executives

Forty-one per cent of the UK's population will run out of retirement income by the time they reach the age of 85, according to Lincoln Financial Group

Changes to women's pensions are misunderstood by many, according to the Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS)

Dramatised reactions to pension debts could worsen the recession, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI)

The FTSE350 pensions deficit has increased by £20bn from £13bn at 31 December 2007 to £33bn, with a fourfold increase in the threat of default for the ten per cent of companies most at risk, says Mercer

The Government must press pension funds to become responsible investors, says the Trades Union Congress (TUC)

Customers remain satisfied with the financial services they receive despite the recession, says the Institute of Consumer Service (ICS)

Those most heavily affected by the Equitable Life debacle are to receive ex-gratia payments from the Government by a new scheme that it has pledged to launch

The Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (PADA) has officially invited companies to tender for the job of administering the national pension saving scheme

Twenty-three per cent of Brits will be forced to retire later than they had planned, according to new research from Life Trust

Risk-savvy consumers are analysing their investment portfolios and identifying long-term buying opportunities as a result of the credit crunch, says AXA

Pension schemes are calling on investment managers to cut their fees, according to a survey by bfinance

One third of retirees are approaching retirement with trepidation as they believe poor provision will lead them to an early grave, according to Club Vita

The actuarial profession needs to be subject to extra quality control measures when it comes to pensions, according to the Financial Reporting Council's Professional Oversight Board (POB)

Eighty-five million pounds are wasted each year on running occupational defined contribution (DC) pension schemes rather than contract-based Group Personal Pension or Stakeholder schemes, says Alexander Forbes Financial Services (AFFS)

The Pensions Regulator's (TPR) clearance and abandonment guidance have been reviewed and amended to better fall in line with amendments in the Pensions Act 2008

UK pension funds suffered the first negative yearly returns since the three-year downturn at the beginning of the century, according to BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, proving themselves to be vulnerable to last year's extraordinary market volatility