News

IRELAND - Members of defined contribution schemes may soon have the option to defer the purchase of an annuity when they reach retirement, the Irish government says.

GERMANY - The €2.4bn (US$3bn) North Rhine-Westphalia mandatory buffer fund for civil servant pension provision (Versorgungsrücklage) has awarded around €800m to Deutsche Bundesbank this month, MandateWire reports.

US - The funding status of the average US pension plan has declined to around 75% from a roughly fully funded status at the start of the year, Merrill Lynch estimates.

JLT Benefit Solutions has appointed Jerry Edmondson as a head of benefit communications.

THE cost of providing employees with a career average revalued earnings pension could become 10pc cheaper in 2009, Hymans Robertson says.

The Principles for Responsible Investment is planning to launch a global and non-commercial database on investment research focused on environmental, social and governance issues.

FSA urges banks to buy bonds; Credit Suisse axe 11% of workforce

EUROPE - The European exchange traded fund (ETF) industry will exceed US$200bn next year in spite of the economic downturn, Barclays Global Investors (BGI) says.

THE Financial Reporting Council has urged trustees to be more vigilant over the actuarial assumptions they use.

US - New York's pension fund withdrew its money from three equity accounts, including two with Oppenheimer Capital LLC, state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said.