Europe

UK - Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) been selected to buy out the £42m (US$74.7m) UK Can Pension Plan, in a deal which will see it provide greater benefits than currently paid by the Pension Protection Fund (PPF).

UK - More than two thirds of companies are planning to slash contributions towards final salary pension scheme deficits, Aon Consulting warns.

UK - Lancashire County Council pension fund has placed a specialist global passive mandate worth £350m (US$630m) out to tender.

EUROPE - A growing move by pension funds towards hedge fund replication has prompted a warning they could be missing out on the returns offered by funds of hedge funds.

GLOBAL - A global poll carried out recently by SEI's Pension Management Research Panel has found the number of defined benefit pension funds using LDI strategies in five key markets has doubled since 2007.

UK - The chief executive of the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), Partha Dasgupta, will stand down from his role in June 2009.

ICELAND - Net assets for pension payments increased by ISK200bn (US$2.4bn) during 2007, a report by the Icelandic Financial Supervisory Authority (FME) has found.

UK - The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has expressed disappointment over the departure of the Pension Protection Fund's CEO Partha Dasgupta, but said it hopes more can be achieved before he leaves in June.

UK - The government is being urged to encourage innovation in pension scheme design, following the release of its risk-sharing consultation.

UK - The number of employees whose defined benefit (DB) pension schemes are held by buyout players will rise to 180,000 by the end of the year, HSBC Actuaries and Consultants (HACL) has predicted.