United Kingdom

UK - Professional Pensions, Global Pensions' sister publication covering the UK market, today launches its revamped website - www.professionalpensions.com.

UK - The BP pension trustees have reappointed State Street to provide custody and related services for the £14bn (US$27.7bn) fund.

UK - IAS 19 has become unhelpful for city analysts assessing company share prices, according to the Pension Capital Strategies (PCS) 2008 survey.

UK - Charlie Massey is leaving the Pensions Regulator after completing a three year secondment from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).

UK - Strike action looked inevitable as workers overwhelmingly voted to reject Royal Mail's pension changes yesterday.

UK - Active managers' higher fees for relatively low returns have led the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames pension fund to shift 50% of its portfolio to passive management.

UK - Secretary of state for Work and Pensions, James Purnell has confirmed retirees getting payments via the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) would not have to pay higher rate tax.

UK - Fund managers have reported an optimistic outlook despite the ongoing credit crunch, according to new research by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the CBI.

UK - Lower prices and better income security for scheme members have increased the popularity of occupational pension fund buyouts over the past twelve months, according to Watson Wyatt.

UK - Friends Provident has refused to comment on speculation it is talking to buyout firms about taking on part of its pension fund, to make the company a more attractive takeover target.