NETHERLANDS - The pension age in the Netherlands should be raised to ensure fiscal sustainability, according to a report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

AUSTRALIA - The Labor Government has built upon the Australian superannuation savings system, to allow first-time buyers to save for a home deposit.

US - Residents in the city of Evanston are to vote tomorrow on a proposal to raise real estate transfer taxes by 20%, as the council looks for ways to plug unfunded liabilities of US$140m for its police and fire pension funds.

UK - Threadneedle has agreed to acquire Invesco Perpetual's defined contribution (DC) business for £470m (US$929m).

CUMULUS has launched a long-short equity fund in a bid to profit from the financial impacts of climate change.

GLOBAL - A set of good practice standards relating to the risk management of alternative investments by pension funds has been developed by the International Organisation of Pension Supervisors (IOPS).

GLOBAL - The Irish Pensions Board has engaged ten providers of legal and economic research and actuarial services to form an advisory panel of expertise.

THREADNEEDLE has signed an agreement with Invesco Perpetual to acquire their full service DC pension business.

CANADA - Alberta schools and teachers' associations have agreed at the eleventh hour how to tackle a C$2.1bn (US$2.1bn) pension shortfall amassed before 1992.

NETHERLANDS - PGGM and ABN AMRO have completed a collateralised loan obligation (CLO) transaction to securitise Brazilian loans within the bank's portfolio worth US$850m (€585m).