United Kingdom

UK - Bulk annuity business nearly tripled to £8.2bn (US$12.3bn) in 2008, latest research from Aon Consulting reveals.

UK - Chuo Mitsui Trust International, the global arm of Chuo Mitsui Trust and Banking, has launched a London office in a move to expand its investment management business outside Japan.

UK - The Vivendi 2008 Pensioners' Scheme is set to buyout its pensioner benefits through a deal with MetLife Assurance.

UK - Auto-enrolment into workplace pensions will benefit 95% of the working population and 70% can expect to get back twice what they put in, the government has said.

UK - The National Association of Pension Funds has backed the UK government's strategy to issue more long-dated, indexed-linked gilts and has called for a range of distribution methods to be available to help meet pension funds needs.

UK - Sales of enhanced annuities rose by almost a third in 2008, Watson Wyatt says.

UK - The £3.7bn (US$5.25bn) Merseyside pension fund has gone out to tender for two unconstrained bond mandates worth a total of £320m.

UK - Vanguard is set to launch a UK funds business in a bid to build a more integrated global asset management business.

UK - The total deficit of FTSE 100 pension schemes would amount to around £100bn (US$141bn) if liabilities were valued using "normal" levels of credit spreads, Pension Capital Strategies warns.

UK - Oil giant Ineos has ended months of staff unrest by agreeing a revised set of pension changes with trade union Unite.