Europe

UK - More than half of employees pay less than 6% of their salary into their defined contribution schemes, a new survey shows.

UK - Standard Life Investments (SLI) has further strengthened its board with the appointment of David Cumming, Jonny Maxwell and Rod Paris as executive directors.

UK - The government's Pension Protection Fund will cost between £9m and £15m a year in its early stages, the pensions minister has revealed.

UK - Coating company Leigh's Paints has adopted L&P System's Pension Master system for its staff scheme.

ICELAND - The Co-operative Pension Fund is set to invest 3% of its total assets in hedge funds.

UK - Schemes must insist on full disclosure from hedge funds otherwise they are making a "leap of faith" not an investment decision, Mercer claims.

UK - European Union-wide corporate governance legislation will "drive a coach and horses" through UK reforms, the Confederation of British Industry claims.

EUROPE - The chairman of the European Federation for Retirement Provision (EFRP) Alan Pickering has warned countries in the Nordic region not to "repeat mistakes" made in the UK with regard to pensions policy.

UK - The government will table an amendment to the Pensions Bill today (Thursday) to ensure pensioners are involved in the appointment of trustees.

UK - Mercer Human Resource Consulting is holding a series of courses across the country on pension and reward issues.