United Kingdom

UK - Employers have attacked plans which would force them to match government payments to scheme members who lost pension benefits when their firms failed.

UK - Hermes Pensions Management - the in-house fund management arm of the BT Pension Scheme - is in talks with 12 schemes about investing in its hedge funds.

UK - The government is "rethinking" how it calculates levies for the Pension Protection Fund following pressure from the UK's largest multi-employer schemes.

UK - JPMorgan will acquire a privately owned hedge fund administration firm in a bid to grow its business in the alternative asset market.

UK - Alexander Forbes Financial Services has launched an online pensions calculator which shows money purchase scheme members their full retirement income prospects.

UK - Finance group HBOS has issued total reward statements to 65,000 staff to boost awareness of pensions and other employee benefits.

UK - More than half of employees pay less than 6% of their salary into their defined contribution schemes, a survey has shown.

UK - Hewitt Bacon & Woodrow is holding a series of one-day training seminars for newly-appointed trustees in London and Bristol.

UK - The UK Social Investment Forum has stepped up its campaign to encourage money purchase scheme members to invest ethically.

UK - State Street Global Advisors has launched its first absolute return currency fund for institutional investors.