Market turmoil slows pension transfers into Paternoster; Royal Mail Pension Plan deficit soars on market turmoil; Spectre of pension deficits triggers slide; State workers get bigger pensions; Government set on collision course with Iceland over Landsbanki...

HM Revenue & Customs will try and block a test case launched by the National Association of Pension Funds and the Wheels Common Investment Fund, PP has learned.

Schemes should become more open to utilising the experience of recently retired members on the trustee board, the Occupational Pensioners' Alliance says.

Law firm Eversheds has strengthened its pensions team with the appointment of new Leeds head of pensions Terry Saeedi.

NETHERLANDS/NORDICS - Increasing allocations to emerging markets will be a priority for three-quarters of large pension funds in the Nordics and Netherlands over the next three years, according to Nomura Asset Management.

Schemes that failed to diversify assets or implement liability driven investment strategies face making "hefty" increases in company contribution rates, Hymans Robertson warns.

US - Republican presidential nominee John McCain has announced further plans to help retirees, proposing a maximum tax rate of 10% for money coming out of IRA or 401(k) plans.

Public sector pensions are still three times more valuable than most private sector arrangements despite government reforms, the Pensions Policy Institute says.

CHINA - Sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation (CIC) has denied reports it incurred massive losses through an investment in the Reserve Primary Fund.

SWITZERLAND - UBS and the Swiss National Bank (SNB) have entered into a US$60bn agreement to "materially de-risk and reduce" UBS' balance sheet with a transfer of illiquid securities to a separate fund.