United Kingdom

UK - NAPF chief executive Christine Farnish has lambasted the government over its delay in providing details on the pension protection fund (PPF).

UK - AXA has appointed Nick Groom as head of corporate benefit solutions. He will continue the development of Axa's group pensions proposition and target the large corporate market through major fee-based employee benefit consultants.

UK - High street retailer WHSmith is to hold talks with staff and unions over plugging a £151m deficit in its closed final salary scheme.

UK - Employers are spending millions of pounds on employee benefits which are undervalued and often go unnoticed, research by Aon Consulting claims.

UK - Government pension reforms will not solve the system's inherent problems which disadvantage women and low earners, a new study claims.

UK - Consultants are reminding firms to take advantage of new tax breaks on pension contributions which take effect next year.

UK - Prudential M&G expects pre-tax profits to rise 7% to £76m this year - provided the FTSE All-Share Index remains constant.

UK - Law firm CMS Cameron McKenna is holding a training course for recently-appointed trustees and those seeking a refresher.

UK - ABN AMRO Mellon Global Securities Services has replaced the Bank of New York as global custodian to the Corporation of London.

UK - Fund managers are backing moves by regulators to stop directors "destroying" shareholder value when they move to delist firms.