News

Unscrupulous employers could exploit a number of loopholes to avoid paying contributions to personal accounts, consultants warn.

UK - Nearly half of the FTSE 100 companies amended the mortality assumption of their pension scheme last year adding around £6bn (US$11.7bn) to the index's liabilities, according to Watson Wyatt.

UK - The Pensions Regulator's (TPR) action to impose the first Financial Support Direction (FSD) has been welcomed, although cautiously in some quarters.

Cumulus has launched a long/short equity fund in a bid to profit from the financial impact of climate change.

US - The City of Evanston, Illinois, will have to go back to the drawing board to find ways to plug unfunded liabilities of US$140m in its police and fire pension funds, after residents voted against raising real estate transfer taxes.

The Metal Box Pension Scheme trustee board has been reduced from 10 to six to comply with member-nominated trustee legislation.

NETHERLANDS - Stichting Pensioenfonds OPG has appointed BNY Mellon Asset Servicing to provide global custodian services for assets worth €219m.

A bus driver who suffered two strokes won a discrimination claim against his employer because he was not offered retirement on the grounds of ill-heath.

Prudential scrapped price inflation linked increases for its pensioners despite actuarial assurances that agreed additional funding would cover them, the scheme's retired manager claims.

ICELAND - The real returns of Icelandic pension funds are expected to be as low as 0% to 1% for 2007 because of poor performing domestic equities, but experts remain unconcerned about the long term health of the funds.