News

GERMANY - Mercer has acquired Höfer Vorsorge-Management, a German actuarial and retirement consulting firm, expanding its 300-strong employee base to more than 500.

US - A consortium of long-term infrastructure investors, including the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), has filed an application with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC) to request its approval in connection with...

NEW ZEALAND - The government's KiwiSaver superannuation scheme has brought additional complexity and new fiscal risks, because of the high cost of generous incentives, according to a report from the Retirement Commissioner.

CANADA - Workers have won legal protection for their wages and pension contributions when their employer goes bankrupt, following the approval of a new Bill.

GLOBAL - MSCI Barra has launched a new series of benchmark indices for 19 frontier market countries and the MSCI Asia APEX 50 Index, a tradable Asian index.

US - Public sector pension funds face a US$731bn funding gap over the next 30 years as the cost of pension promises, health care obligations and other related benefits have not been met by sufficient levels of saving at state level.

THE PENSIONS REGULATOR and the Pension Protection Fund have released an up-to-date edition of its Purple Book.

US - The asset allocation of the US$250bn California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) has been revamped.

EUROCLEAR UK & Ireland plans to implement record-breaking fee reductions of £11.8m in 2008.

WATSON WYATT has appointed Michael Chatterton as a senior consultant in its benefits practice.