United Kingdom

UK - Local authority pension schemes will miss out on a good governance opportunity if draft proposals from Communities and Local Government (CLG) are introduced, Mercer warns.

UK - Trade union GMB has called on the government to instruct energy regulator Ofgem to drop proposals to cut workers pensions.

UK - Thousands more people are now receiving compensation from the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), latest figures reveal.

UK - Cable & Wireless (C&W) and Prudential have signed the first £1bn (US$1.8bn) bulk annuities pension deal.

UK - The Pensions Regulator has demanded a private equity firm pay an £8m (US$14.2m) pension fund top-up to a firm it sold almost a year ago.

UK - Directors at the UK's top companies enjoy pensions worth up to 25 times more than most staff pensions, according to the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

UK - Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC) been selected to buy out the £42m (US$74.7m) UK Can Pension Plan, in a deal which will see it provide greater benefits than currently paid by the Pension Protection Fund (PPF).

UK - More than two thirds of companies are planning to slash contributions towards final salary pension scheme deficits, Aon Consulting warns.

UK - Lancashire County Council pension fund has placed a specialist global passive mandate worth £350m (US$630m) out to tender.

GLOBAL - A global poll carried out recently by SEI's Pension Management Research Panel has found the number of defined benefit pension funds using LDI strategies in five key markets has doubled since 2007.