UK - Higher annuity rates and volatile market conditions have dented retirement prospects for UK workers over the last few months, suggests research from Aon Hewitt.
UK - Trustees of the ITB closed pension fund have entered into a £152.7m ($248.7m) buy-in agreement with Pension Insurance Corporation covering 1,662 members.
EUROPE - Pension schemes are looking to increase allocations to private equity but demand greater transparency, reporting and risk management from providers, a report suggests.
UK - Pension schemes are being urged to ensure their fund managers have put in protective claims with HMRC for the recovery of VAT potentially "erroneously" overcharged over the last four years.
UK - The Debt Management Office is considering launching index-linked gilts with a maturity of 50 years in October after the idea of a new batch of ultra-long bonds was proposed to investors.
UK - Kent County Council has come under fire from campaign groups for investing £24m ($39m) of its pension fund portfolio in tobacco companies.
UK - The Society of Pension Consultants has urged government to pass legislation defining money purchase benefits immediately, or risk schemes not operating correctly.
UK/EUROPE - The £4bn ($6.6bn) Merseyside Pension Fund has made an infrastructure allocation to AMP Capital's Strategic Infrastructure Trust of Europe.
UK - The ITV pension scheme has entered into a £1.7bn ($2.8bn) longevity swap with Credit Suisse to fully hedge the longevity risk for 12,000 of its pensioner members.
UK/US - Mercer has promoted Michael Dempsey to head up its investment management business for Europe, Middle East and Africa, replacing Tom Murphy who will take on a similar role in the US.