Europe

UK - The £4.2bn (US£8.2bn) Merseyside Pension Fund has placed a £135m European active equity mandate out to tender.

UK - Life expectancy improves by five hours each day causing problems for pension schemes stuck within inflexible regimes, according to Punter Southall.

EUROPE - Western European mandatory pension systems look set to follow the multi-pillar arrangements seen in Eastern European countries, say some industry experts.

UK - Hertfordshire County Council pension fund has awarded three global equity investment mandates worth £600m (US$1.2bn), as part of a move away from UK equities.

UK - Hermes has appointed Northern Trust as outsource provider in its first move to subcontract the function.

UK - More postal strikes looked likely yesterday as Communication Workers Union (CWU) members backed proposals of a national ballot on industrial action over pension changes and post office closures.

UK - Rising inflation has significantly added to pension fund liabilities, while market fundamentals and technical signals look "ominous", according to research by consultant firm Redington Partners.

EUROPE/MEXICO - The European Commission (EC) is to look at Mexico's social framework, with particular reference to the pensions sector.

UK - Mercer has been appointed investment consultant to the trustees of Manweb Group's £800m (US$1.5bn) defined benefit Electricity Supply Pension Scheme.

UK - The government claims it has made significant progress on pensioner poverty, despite its latest statistics showing the number of pensioners in relative poverty has risen.