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

Active member discount charging structures risk breaching the Financial Services Authority treating customers fairly principles, Scottish Life warns.

US - A New York federal judge blocked Argentina from transferring out of the US investments held by its pension funds, granting a request by bondholders holding a $553m judgment against the South American country.

US - A report put out by the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) has warned employers looking to save money by freezing defined benefit (DB) plans are actually laying themselves open to increased costs in the long term.

GLOBAL - Institutional investors have moved out of equity positions and are braced for a continuing slowdown through 2009, State Street global Markets (SSgM) said at an investment conference in Sydney, Australia, today.

UK - Latest government statistics on mortality rates should be interpreted with care, Watson Wyatt has said.

CANADA - Nova Scotia's finance minister Michael Baker said pension benefits for plan members eligible to retire in the next five years would not change.

GERMANY - Pension funds shifted out of equities and alternatives and into cash and bonds before the worst effects of the credit crunch hit, according to research by Greenwich Associates.

Standard Life increases penalty on early exits; Old Mutual makes good showing on recovery hope; US firms face $100bn pension gap

Trustees may ask sponsors for an additional £45bn a year for the next five years to fill in gaping holes in scheme funding levels, Aon Consulting warns.