FINLAND - The €27bn (US$34.6bn) Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company has further reduced its investments in listed shares, MandateWire reports.

US - The funded status of the Illinois Teachers' Retirement System (TRS) dropped to 56% in the last fiscal year, down from 64% the previous year.

CANADA - The C$155bn (US$129bn) Caisse pension fund has sufficient liquidity to meet all its commitments to members in spite of the financial turmoil, its president says.

INCLUDING: UK - Brits miss out on tax relief; GLOBAL - S&P launches International Treasury Bond Index Series; UK - Pension Corp appoints general counsel; UK - Faith in property plummets

US - Industry bodies have called on the US Congress to 'soften the blow' of phasing in Pension Protection Act (PPA) reforms in order to safeguard the long-term viability of defined benefit (DB) pensions.

Men narrow longevity gap on women; A million elderly get the wrong pension after errors in system; Firms may have to find £45bn a year for final-salary schemes

Latest government statistics on mortality rates should be interpreted with care, Watson Wyatt says.

FRIENDS PROVIDENT is set to give its 52pc stake in F&C Asset Management to its shareholders.

Aegon Trustee Solutions is to launch a longevity insurance product to the defined benefit market.

More than half of scheme managers believe the department for work and pensions should relax the rules on returning surpluses to employers.