Europe

EUROPE - Governments need to do more to help the aging society, which will require large scale changes to existing social security systems, European politicians, academics and industry representatives have said.

UK - Almost 70% of employees believe they will take up auto-enrolment into an occupational pension from 2012, government research claims.

UK - Pension funds abandoning diversification strategies as a response to losses caused by market turmoil could miss investment opportunities, asset managers warn.

UK - A sizeable minority of schemes feel they will miss funding recovery targets despite expecting contribution rises, Watson Wyatt has said.

UK - The option for trustees to commute small 'stranded pension pots' of less than £2,000 (US$2,950) has been put on hold until the middle of 2009.

UK - The government's decision to cut value added tax and then put it up again could add around £3bn (US$4.5bn) to defined benefit (DB) pension liabilities, Watson Wyatt warns.

UK - The aggregate funding position of the 7800 defined benefit (DB) funds monitored by the Pension Protection Fund worsened to £136bn (US$202bn) in November.

UK - The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has urged trustees to be more vigilant over the actuarial assumptions they use.

EUROPE - The European exchange traded fund (ETF) industry will exceed US$200bn next year in spite of the economic downturn, Barclays Global Investors (BGI) says.

UK - Cornwall County Council has gone out to tender for a passive global equity mandate for its pension fund, which would initially comprise a portfolio of £50m (US$72.3m).