Pension schemes have snapped up £500m of 50-year corporate bonds launched by supermarket giant Tesco.

Poor timekeeping is costing businesses £66m a year, new research shows.

PRESSURE is mounting on ministers to increase compensation to scheme wind-up victims after the High Court ruled the government was guilty of maladministration.

THE INVESTMENT Management Association has urged the government to launch a broader debate on the issues regarding annuities and the provision of income in retirement in this year's Budget.

BELGIUM - Belgian pension fund returns fell by 6.2% to 8.76% over 2006, compared to their 2005 performance of 14.96%.

NORWAY - The 28 external managers for the Norwegian Government Pension Fund equity portfolio lost NOK6.1bn (€757m) over 2006, missing their benchmarks for the first time since the fund's inception.

THE DEFICIT in the NHS Pension scheme gas risen by £61.2bn in just two years, the Conservative Party reveals.

CANADA - Assets under management by Canadian pension funds topped C$1trn for the first time in 2006 mostly due to the recent strong performance of domestic and global equity markets.

TESCO has raised £500m through the issue of a 50-year corporate bond - an issue that was more than four times oversubscribed.

GLOBAL - Winners of the 2007 Global Pensions Awards were announced at a black tie ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.