GERMANY - The German state pension is set to rise this year, for the first time since 2006.

UK - Universities Superannuation Scheme chief investment officer Peter Moon is to retire from the £23bn (US$32.2bn) scheme early next year.

Friends Provident made a loss of £871m during 2008 as individual pensions and protection sales plummeted, and new investment business was almost wiped out.

US - New Jersey local government employers will have the option to defer a portion of their annual pension contribution to the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) and the Police and Firemen's Retirement System (PFRS) for one-year.

UK - The Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan Pension Fund had appointed Mesirow Financial Currency Management and Goldman Sachs Asset Management to manage a £40m active currency mandate.

US - The California Public Employees' Retirement System had estimated its total fund risk has doubled over the past year.

SPAIN - Fonditel, the pension fund manager for Spanish telecoms giant Telefónica, is reviewing ways it can reposition the firm in order to boost returns going forward.

US / IRELAND - The US$155bn New York State Common Retirement Fund (CRF) will invest up to $30m in Northern Ireland, as part of a new private equity programme.

CHINA/UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - The Bank of New York Mellon has launched a sovereign advisory board targeting sovereign pension plans, wealth funds, central banks and sovereign owned entities.

Two major local authority schemes have started legal action against Royal Bank of Scotland, alleging it made "materially false and misleading" statements about its financial health.