Hutton faces conflict over pensions savings cap; Brown under fire for delay on Equitable; MPC had considered half-point rise in rates; Consumers finally tighten their belts

TRUSTEES should consider benchmarking their funds using a custom-built index, the FTSE says.

MORE than 1000 scheme wind-up victims instantly became eligible for increased payments from the Financial Assistance Scheme when the government removed the "de minimus rule".

Ministers have dismissed calls to ensure that every pound saved in personal accounts will make savers at least a pound better off than non-savers.

Trustees can scupper private equity deals by being "recklessly prudent" over scheme funding, PricewaterhouseCoopers Legal warns.

RUSSELL Investment Group is to try and update the industry transition management code of practice, the T-Charter, despite disagreement over its contents.

Make a note in the diary. Friday, May 11 was the momentous day when Britain's top 200 pension scheme had an aggregate surplus for the first time since accounting standard FRS17 was introduced in June 2001.

Lawyers have welcomed the appointment of Tony King as the new pensions ombudsman and believe he will improve the office's performance.

SWEDEN - AP7, the seventh national buffer pension scheme, has revealed it will switch up to 40 % into pure alpha strategies in the next three to five years, according to reports.

UK - British pension funds have been slower to invest in listed property than their global counterparts, claimed Stephen Hayes of boutique manager Perennial Real Estate Investments.