Employee Benefits

GLOBAL - Investment professionals are increasingly leaving the financial sector for pastures new as firms restructure and salary levels drop.

UK - Mercer Human Resource Consulting has unveiled a new method for evaluating executive pay which, it says, promotes greater transparency.

NETHERLANDS - Pharmaceuticals and chemicals giant Akzo Nobel has fervently denied allegations from a Dutch shareholder activist group that it masked a e260m pension fund deficit in its 2002 financial accounts.

UK - Occupational scheme members do not understand many aspects of their pensions, a survey by business adviser PKF reveals.

UK - Employers are tailoring schemes to worker groups in a bid to try and boost motivation among key staff, latest research from Industrial Relations Services shows.

UK - Mercer Human Resource Consulting has been appointed by Apache Corporation to set up a new final salary scheme and provide pensions and benefits advice.

UK - Fund managers are being urged to revamp their member-communications packages to make them more flexible and relevant to individual DC schemes.

UK - Schemes could increase their appeal to members if they offered more flexible DC packages, MNPA claims.

UK - Engineering company GKN looks set to increase contributions from £18m to £20m into its ailing £1.5bn pension fund this year.

UK - Brewing firm Interbrew - best known for its Stella Artois brand - has appointed youatwork to offer employee benefits services to its 3100 UK staff.