United Kingdom

UK - The Church of England Pensions Board has awarded a £30m bond mandate to Insight Investment.

UK - A new computer network has slashed the £4.8bn West Midlands Metropolitan Authorities Pension Fund's administration costs by £350,000 a year.

UK - The government should tackle problems with the state pension system before it tries to reform private provision, insurers argue.

UK - Former Marconi finance director John Mayo has ended the long-running dispute over his pension by settling for an £800,000 payout.

UK - Royal & SunAlliance has come under fire from Keith Montgomery Associates over the fees it charges IFAs for retirement quotes.

UK - The government is drafting new regulations to protect workers' pension rights when schemes go into wind-up.

UK - SIPP providers are being urged to draw up a rigorous code of practice in an attempt to stop unscrupulous or incompetent firms breaking Inland Revenue rules.

UK - Former head of corporate finance at Boots, John Ralfe, is setting up his own independent consulting company to advise firms on managing pension fund risk.

UK - Honda plans to raise the normal retirement age for its UK final salary scheme from 60 to 62 and increase contributions to help plug a £42.5m deficit.

UK - Newspaper distributor John Menzies has followed Boots and John Lewis by imposing a five-year waiting period for staff to join its final salary scheme.