United Kingdom

UK - Paul Lowe has joined William M Mercer as a senior consultant, based in London.

UK / SWITZERLAND - Man Group has made a string of top level appointments at its asset management business, Man Investment Products, hiring Chris Chambers as its new chief executive officer and promoting David Huyton to chief investment officer.

UK - The appropriateness of actuarial consultants' advice has been called into question in recommending companies to set up hybrid schemes.

UK - The increasingly financially strapped Church of England is in the middle of a consultation process about whether it should alter the structure of its £106m defined benefit pension fund.

UK - Chief executive of insurer Royal & SunAlliance Bob Mendelsohn conceded "disappointing" figures for 2001, as the group saw operating profits dive from £426m to £16m in just 12 months.

UK - More than half of FTSE 100 companies that have disclosed their FRS17 position are showing a deficit, according to research by Professional Pensions, IPN's sister publication.

UK - Local authorities are calling for tighter regulations to curb the fraudulent number of council staff taking early retirement for ill-health.

UK - A shortage of companies being able to issue high quality debt is creating a huge pent up demand among pension funds, consultants claim.

UK - Pensions Minister Ian McCartney has announced there will be no change to the rate of the general levy paid by occupational and personal pension schemes and that, for the fifth year running, a compensation levy would not be raised in 2002/03.

UK - Standard Life has converted all its occupational pension schemes to a single 1% management charge - mirroring the charges of the government's stakeholder products.