Trustees of the Philips Pension Fund have exchanged holdings of gilts and cash for a buy-in covering £484m of the 33,000-member scheme's liabilities.

The success of national pension tracking systems in Denmark, Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands could provide a model for the rest of the continent, say European actuaries.

The volume of bulk annuity transactions this year has already exceeded the 2012 total thanks to a flurry of large deals completed by Rothesay Life and Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC).

Trustees should focus on the operational processes of fiduciary managers in the initial stages of selecting a provider, says Aon Hewitt.

This week respondents chose the noble elephant as their preferred pensions industry mascot.

Almost seven in 10 contributors said there is a governance gap between contract- and trust-based schemes.

A "major" deal to sell off an international part of Lloyds Bank was brought to the brink of collapse due to the weight of pension commitments.

Almost half of respondents thought the threat of pension liberation was growing, with around the same proportion unsure.

More than seven out of ten respondents said they did not believe they would be able to retire with two thirds replacement rate income when they reached state retirement age.

The old question of trustee remuneration split respondents right down the middle.