Regulation

IRELAND - A construction company has pleaded guilty to deducting pension contributions from its workers but failing to deposit the funds into the Construction Workers Pension Scheme (CWPS).

US/UK - A US law firm is advising European pension funds and institutional investors to opt out of the US class action against Royal Bank of Scotland and to seek damages in the UK.

AUSTRALIA - The first phase of the comprehensive review into Australia's superannuation system has steered clear of dictating investment practices, but argued that governance at super funds should be equivalent to practices at listed governance.

CANADA - The Ontario government has proposed a number of changes to the employment pension system in what could be the most far reaching reform in the last two decades.

UK - Alistair Darling's proposals to reform public sector pensions cover up a 45% hike in costs next year, independent pensions consultant Ros Altmann warned.

CANADA - The opposition Liberal party has called for the government to launch a supplementary pension plan aimed at encouraging Canadians to save more for retirement.

UK - As many as 150,000 additional people will be caught out by the extension of higher-rate tax relief restrictions announced in today's pre-budget report.

Chancellor Alistair Darling is expected to delay the introduction of personal accounts for a year as part of spending cuts in today's Pre-Budget Report.

SWEDEN - A new report to the Ministry of Finance on the efficiency of the Swedish AP funds suggests merging the four largest funds into a giant SEK745bn (US$105bn) pot and eliminating AP6, the smallest scheme.

The Pension Regulator's revised trustee knowledge and understanding code of practice has come into effect, setting a minimum standard to help schemes run effectively.