INDIA - The State Government of Kerala has repealed a 2002 order which made civil service and public sector workers sign up to contributory pension schemes when entering employment, according to a report in the New India Press.

US - Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards has set out a plan in which he would require every employer to automatically enrol its workers in a retirement plan.

IRELAND - Pension funds were down 2.5% on average at the end of 2007, the first year to end in negative territory since 2002, according to Hewitt Associates.

UK - The aggregate deficit for UK pension schemes dropped sharply in 2007, ending the year at a low of £2bn (US$3.9bn) and seeing almost half of all UK schemes in surplus, despite market volatility and the credit crunch.

US - President George Bush has signed legislation that allows local governments to divest from companies with ties to Sudan, in a move which will make it easier for pension funds to sell such investments.

AUSTRALIA - Superannuation assets increased by 24.4% over the 12 months to September 2007, reaching AUS$1.2trn (US$1.05trn), according to the latest figures released by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).

US - State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) is to conduct a global search for a new chief executive following the resignation of William Hunt.

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US - The Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) has added a natural resources option for members of its defined contribution scheme.

UK - Union leaders have called off strikes due to affect many of the UK's largest airports, including Heathrow and Gatwick, after concessions made by airport operator BAA over the closure of the company's defined benefit (DB) pension scheme were accepted...