Inflation

Poorer than expected asset returns, a falling discount rate and increasing longevity assumptions have almost doubled the Johnston Press Pension Plan deficit in 2011.

CPI annual inflation fell to 3.4% in February, down from 3.6% in January, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The Office for National Statistics has updated the basket of goods used to calculate CPI inflation - which sets increases to the state pension - to include iPads and teen fiction.

The growth of long lease property funds could provide some shelter from rental volatility for pension scheme investors, argues KPMG.

The UK inflation rate fell to 3.6% in January, down from 4.2% in December, official figures show

MPs have called on the government to protect company pensions during international takeovers following the on-going dispute between Heineken and Scottish & Newcastle scheme members.

Guaranteeing indexation has increased the cost of providing defined benefit pensions by 12% over the past 20 years, according to Pension Corporation research.

The latest inflation figures will bring home the effect of the switch from RPI to CPI for scheme members as the gap between the two widens, warns an inflation expert.

The government is considering scrapping indexation for defined benefit pension schemes as part of its promise to reinvigorate occupational pensions, the pensions minister confirms.

The overwhelming majority of pension schemes are highly vulnerable to future inflation rises, according to a joint survey by Redington and Pension Corporation.