PwC

CANADA - Canadian pension funds kept mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in the country afloat in the third quarter, according to PwC.

West Midlands Pension Fund has acquired more central London office space after buying St Andrew's House in conjunction with ING Real Estate Investment Management for £25.2m.

UK - Overestimated inflation projections could be costing UK defined benefit scheme sponsors over £50bn ($79bn)in unnecessary funding commitments, a corporate adviser warns.

Employers forced to cut pay rises to pay for pension plans; Companies warned not to dismiss pay revolts; Axa asks staff to give up index-linked pensions; Pensions worry QE2 will raise liabilities; High price for overstating inflation

Overestimated inflation projections could be costing UK defined benefit scheme sponsors over £50bn in unnecessary funding commitments, a corporate adviser warns.

The Court of Appeal has ruled in favour of The Pensions Regulator in the Nortel/Lehman Brothers legal challenge.

Industry figures are expecting a host of de-risking insurance deals to be undertaken by "quasi-public sector" schemes in the coming months.

HSBC Workplace Retirement Services has appointed Mark Winstanley as a senior client relationship manager.

Longevity swaps leave schemes open to the risk that younger members live twice as long in retirement than current pensioner members, Punter Southall warns.

A dozen longevity swap deals are set to complete in the next 18 months after the £1.7bn ITV Pension Scheme deal reinvigorated the market, a consultant says.