Treasury

The Local Government Pension Scheme will become "unsustainable" following cuts outlined in last month's Comprehensive Spending Review, the GMB warns.

The government announced its long-awaited plans for restricting pensions tax-relief last Thursday - replacing the complex legislation put in place by the last administration in the Finance Act 2010.

Have you missed the biggest stories in pensions this week? Find out below, as we list the top ten most popular stories on www.professionalpensions.com over the past seven days (8 October - 14 October).

The annual allowance will be cut from £255,000 to £50,000; the lifetime allowance reduced from £1.8m to £1.5m, and the factor for valuing final salary benefits increased from 10 to 16, the Treasury has announced.

Treasury proposals to remove the requirement to annuities by age 75 will only benefit "those who need them the least", the industry warns.

US - The recession and an ageing population will force US social security to pay out more than it takes in for the first time ever this year.

The shape of changes to the pension taxation system should be confirmed by the end of September, a Treasury consultation paper says.

NEW ZEALAND - Treasury deputy chief executive Gabriel Makhlouf said encouraging those 65 and above to work could help make a dent in the country's "unsustainable" superannuation and other budget costs.

Equitable Life policyholders will have to wait until the middle of next year for compensation, which could be as little as £400m.

Coalition government plans to investigate allowing members to dip into their personal pension pots could "signal the end of occupational pensions", Pinsent Masons warns.