United Kingdom

UK - The £26.6bn BT Pension Scheme and the £12.8bn Royal Mail Pension Plan have invested a total of £51m in Henderson Global Investors' UK Shop Fund.

UK - Consultant Lane Clark & Peacock has expanded its employee benefits practice with the launch of a dedicated pensions fund administration consulting unit.

UK - Employers are granting almost eight out of 10 flexible working requests from parents with young children, new government statistics show.

UK - Firms can increase the return they get from their employee benefit schemes by embracing customer relationship management skills, Hewitt Bacon & Woodrow claims.

UK - Mellon Financial Corporation has acquired pension scheme member communication firm, Talking People.

UK - Pensioners are missing out on benefits worth £2.5bn because the system is mind-numbingly complex, the Liberal Democrats claim.

UK - Risk and healthcare benefits are becoming a key way to retain and attract skilled staff, a senior benefit consultant says.

UK - Corporate responsibility reporting is proving an "excessive burden" for listed companies and fails to meet the demands of institutional investors, new research reveals.

UK - Unions will increasingly be forced to accept the closure of final salary pensions to keep firms afloat, a law firm predicts.

UK - The government has published legislation to help ensure betterdistribution of assets between pensioners and other scheme members when pension schemes wind up with insufficient funds.