Europe

UK - Alistair Darling, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, has proposed simpler pensions products in a bid to encourage more people to start saving.

UK - Standards within socially responsible investment are dropping as its market grows, a report by radical think-tank the New Economics Foundation claims.

UK - Companies can mitigate the brutal and blunt snapshot FRS17 gives of pension liabilities by give more scheme details in their accounts, Bacon & Woodrow claims.

EUROPE/UK - Harmonisation of EU cross-border tax relief on pensions has moved a step closer following a test case at the European Court of Justice, legal experts believe.

UK - Trevor Smith of the Pension Trust is to step down from his role as deputy chief executive.

UK - Pension scheme asset allocation decisions should be taken away from trustees and handed over to finance directors, a top-level discussion group heard.

UK - Puma, a property fund with a seven-year lifespan, is being targeted at institutional investors seeking returns higher than equities and bonds.

UK - David Willetts MP, shadow secretary of state for work and pensions has heavily criticised the government, claiming that savings are plummeting.

UK - The government must bite the bullet on compulsory pensions' savings, delegates at the NAPF conference in Brighton were told today.

UK - Making Myners' proposals law would run counter to the government's own aims to ease pensions red tape, the Society of Pension Consultants warns.