EUROPE - Fortis, BNP Paribas and Dexia cited challenging market conditions to defend underperformance in Q1 2008.

Lonmin becomes first FTSE100 firm to buyout scheme liabilities; Gordon Brown delays pension reform; Aegon to launch variable annuities product; Pensions liabilities rise by £8bn

THE importance of pension administration is "vastly undervalued", The Pensions Regulator warns.

US - The California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) has asked shareholders in Tech Data Corporation to back its call for an advisory vote on executive compensation.

THE NETHERLANDS - Early retirement and increased longevity has forced the Dutch central bank (DNB) to make a €500bn contribution to cover increasing future benefits payments.

LONMIN has bought out its pension scheme in a deal with Paternoster.

Increases in the mortality assumptions used by pension schemes have raised the liabilities of the UK's biggest firms by £8bn, latest research by Mercer shows.

AUSTRALIA - The government has pledged Aus$3.9bn to the Future Fund and a clearing house to help smaller businesses meet their superannuation choice requirements in today's budget.

GLOBAL - Over a third of savers think governments should do more to enforce private savings for retirement, while a quarter feel working longer is the key, according to research by HSBC and the University of Oxford.

SMALL employers must not be left to shoulder the burden of advising workers about personal accounts, delegates heard.