UK - Rick Di Mascio, chairman of the T-charter has announced he will not be putting himself up for re-election.

ARGENTINA - President Cristina Fernández announced pension payments will be raised by 8.2% from the beginning of March, taking the level of pension increases to nearly 500% since 2003.

IRELAND - Four out of five defined benefit (DB) schemes are in deficit despite good investment returns last year, the 2009 Annual Review by Ireland's Pensions Board revealed.

US/EUROPE - US class action law firms have been engaging in fierce competition in order to get business from European pension funds in recent years.

US - Two companies have agreed to pay back a total of US$19m to resolve their roles in the ongoing investigation into pay-to-play practices at the New York State Common Retirement Fund (CRF).

EUROPE - The vast majority of European investment funds are not using the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in their accounting and reporting, a survey by Ernst & Young revealed.

GLOBAL - Pension funds have been returning to the UK property market in the wake of improving returns after the asset class lost almost half of its value in two years, industry figures said.

Pension funds have been returning to the UK commercial property market in the wake of improving returns after the asset class lost almost half of its value, industry figures say.

GLOBAL - Private equity and real estate fundraising last year reached the lowest level since 2004, a survey by Preqin has revealed.

SWITZERLAND/ITALY/UK - Swisscanto is planning a move into the Italian pension market after a recent expansion into the UK, a company official said.