United Kingdom

UK - Pension law firms Pinsents and Masons are set to merge in December to form a top 15 UK law firm with a significant international presence and turnover of £150m.

UK - Firms with final salary schemes have far better staff retention than those which offer money purchase provision, a new report claims.

UK - Conservative plans to use unclaimed assets in banks and building societies to compensate scheme members have been slammed by the Building Societies' Association.

UK - With the threat of a pensions crisis hanging over the UK, consumers could look to alternative savings vehicles to help fund retirement, the Association of Policy Market Makers (APMM) says.

UK - The government cannot afford to wait for the Pensions Commission's recommendations and must act now if it wants to save the pensions system, consultants warn.

UK - The Pensions Commission looks set to recommend compulsion unless there is ‘a big increase' in the number of firms making employer contributions.

UK - Insight Investment has recruited Deutsche Asset Management's Sandy Black to its senior investment management team.

UK - International asset management business Gartmore Investment Limited has signed a strategic marketing contract with UFJ Trust, the trust bank arm of Japan's fourth largest bank, UFJ Group.

UK - Prime minister Tony Blair has admitted it is unlikely his government will begin to tackle the pensions crisis until after the next general election.

UK - Cash is likely to be the main alternative for employers set to suffer a charge under the new pensions Lifetime Allowance (LTA), according to a new Watson Wyatt survey.