United Kingdom

UK - Glassware manufacturer Dartington Crystal is winding up its final salary pension scheme to secure "the long-term survival of the company".

UK - Aon Consulting has been chosen by the Kellogg's Pension Fund to manage the administration of its UK pension scheme.

UK -Trustees should hold investment managers as accountable for governance as for performance, Mercer Investment Consulting's Andrew Kirton claims.

UK - Backbench calls to close the Parliamentary Pension Scheme because it is too generous have been dismissed as a PR ruse by the pensions minister.

UK - The £4.5m takeover of Ernst & Young Financial Management by IFA Cavanagh has been given the go-ahead by the Financial Services Authority.

UK - Senior pensions lawyer Giles Orton has defended a £100,000 pension payout to the widow of convicted serial killer Harold Shipman.

UK - JPMorgan Fleming is launching its fifth annual Defined Contribution Industry Survey 2004 next week, in conjunction with Professional Pensions.

UK - A delegation of British factory workers is planning to fly to Chicago to demand a US food group "buys back" pensions.

UK - Scheme wind-ups will force the government to scrap compulsory annuities or set up a state-backed alternative, a leading economist claims.

UK - Merrill Lynch Investment Managers has appointed Nigel Ridge (pictured) to its UK specialist team as institutional fund manager.