Europe

UK - A petition calling for the government to block "immoral" changes to the Armed Forces Pension Scheme will be presented to parliament next month.

UK - Law firm Sacker & Partners scooped the top prize - the prestigious Golden Star Award for Excellence - at this year's UK Pensions Awards.

UK - Beneficiaries of scheme members killed in a terrorist attack may get only 10% of their benefits because insurers are capping catastrophe cover, experts warn.

UK - Trade union Amicus is lobbying MPs to increase the number of member-nominated trustees on occupational scheme boards from 33% to 50%.

UK - Sponsoring employers will find out today whether they will be forced to consult trade unions before making changes to their pension scheme.

UK - Pension funds have returned an average of 1.1% for the first quarter of 2004, according to provisional figures from Russell/Mellon CAPS.

UK - Government legislation will take away small self-administered schemes' flexibility, a leading pension provider claims.

UK - Leicestershire County Council pension fund has dished out a £150m UK equity mandate to Standard life Investments, to be managed on a wholly discretionary basis.

UK - The Treasury is considering measures beyond professional qualifications for lay trustees in a bid to boost their investment expertise Professional Pensions has learned.

UK - Government amendments to priority orders on scheme wind-ups have been dismissed as "less than a temporary fix" by consultants.