UK - Aon consulting has questioned the capacity of the market to handle high levels of demand for buyout of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes, after it conducted a study revealing an 80% surge in buyout activity in the second quarter.

UK - Swiss Re has agreed to take over some 760,000 life insurance and pensions policies from Barclays Life for a cash sum of £753m (US$1.47bn).

DELOITTE has appointed Mercer to provide full administration services for a number of its pension schemes.

LEGAL AND GENERAL has seen a 350pc increase in pension buyout business in the six months to June 30, its half-year results reveal.

Northern Rock pension talks stall; Taxpayers may have to dig deep for miners' pensions

US - The retirement age must be raised sooner rather than later if the country is to stave off an impending pension crisis, the American Academy of Actuaries (AAA) has warned.

US - The US$153.9bn New York State Common Retirement Fund has realised a positive return of 2.56% for the last fiscal year, following losses announced by other major US pension funds.

UK - Legal & General has reported an increase in operating profits of 6% to £626m, first half year figures reveal, with its buyout business a strong factor in its success.

THE economic downturn has wiped around £61bn off the value of FTSE 350 pension schemes, a Mercer report reveals.

GLOBAL - The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has released revised guidelines on pension fund governance, which will be open for public consultation until 1 October.