Europe

UK - Bradstock-type deals are robbing scheme members of their retirement benefits, the pensions advisory service OPAS warns.

UK - Four local authority pension funds have invested more than £45m in shareholder engagement funds run by Hermes Pensions Management and its US partner, Relational Investors.

UK - Over 40,000 UK scheme members face "devastating" cuts to their benefits following the collapse of US auto-components manufacturer Federal Mogul.

UK - The Financial Services Authority may have to raise the fees it charges providers to plug an £80.6m deficit in its pension scheme.

UK - Only a small minority of pension funds currently comply with shareholder activism best practice, a survey by the Local Authority Pension Fund Forum reveals.

UK - The £315.5m Weir Group Pension & Life Assurance Scheme has appointed Gold-man Sachs Asset Management to run a £85m UK fixed interest mandate.

UK - The government is considering legislation to ensure trustees meet their responsibilities in raising administration standards, a leading industry action group claims.

UK - Global custodian Northern Trust has formally entered the UK fund accounting business.

UK - The government has turned the tables on its own pensions strategy by making contracting-out increasingly uneconomical, Mercer Human Resource Consulting claims.

UK - The Association of Pensions Lawyers is working with the pensions advisory service OPAS to offer a formal mediation service for scheme disputes.