United Kingdom

UK - The government is to unveil pension proposals that would see up to 10 million workers automatically enrolled in a new low cost pension system.

UK - The £1.1bn Northamptonshire County Council Local Government Pension Scheme is tendering a total of £50m to be divided into two fund of hedge fund mandates, marking its first foray into the asset class.

UK - Employers "levelling down" after 2012 could lead to a £10bn reduction in employer contributions, research undertaken for the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) by Deloitte has found.

UK - ABN AMRO Asset Management has appointed Fidelity's Anne-Sophie Girault as a global product specialist on the back of increased demand for its absolute return products.

UK - Amendments to FRS 17 requiring disclosure of mortality rate assumptions will put pressure on pension schemes with varying assumptions to either justify their decision or "level up" and improve their funding levels, according to an industry expert....

UK - Aon has launched a Pensions Security Indemnity product (PSI) that guarantees pensioners will receive up to 100% of their benefits should their corporate sponsor enter into insolvency, but the firm insisted it would not be competing against buy-out...

UK - Chancellor Gordon Brown's pre-budget stance on Alternatively Secured Pensions (ASPs) has received a mixed reception from the industry.

UK - The cash management industry has welcomed the UK Financial Services Authority's (FSA) quarterly consultation paper, which broadens the regulations for the usage of cash management funds, increasingly being used by pension funds for collateral management....

UK - Just two months after breaking the £1bn barrier, as first revealed in Global Pensions, Investment Gateway, Watson Wyatt's strategy for defined contribution pension schemes has seen 20 plans, including the firm's own, committing over £2bn to the product....

UK - In the pre-budget report released today, chancellor Gordon Brown has announced the April increase in the basic state pension will be in line with September's Retail Price Index (RPI) of 3.6%, taking the basic state pension to £87.30 per week.