Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have condemned the government’s inflexible approach to reaching consensus on personal accounts

Norwich Union Life has been fined £1.26m by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for breaches of customer confidentiality which led to fraud.

Andrew Young’s eight-month review of the £1.7bn of residual assets in failed pension schemes has concluded the money should be used to aid scheme wind-up victims.

The long-awaited Pensions Bill 2007 threw up few surprises, though there has been some disquiet from the industry over the role of the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (PADA).

The government’s extension of the pension fund wind-up lifeboat to an extra 140,000 people has been warmly greeted by the industry.

The Pearl Group has ann­ounced its plans for the merged group resulting from its acquisition of Resolution.

Continued poor performance has forced UK multi-managers to reassess their provision, the latest PM survey has revealed.

Declines in the market in Japan over the past 15 years have tended to mask the steady improvement in corporate governance that should reward investment performance for mid to long-term investors.

Increased demand from Islamic investors, strengthened by the Middle Eastern petrodollar, has increased interest in producing Shariah-compliant funds in the UK.

2008 could see the weakest output growth in the UK since 1992, when the economy was emerging from the last recession. The lowest growth rate recorded since then is 1.8%, in 2005. Many forecasters believe growth will be lower in 2008.

Following a period of gestation rivalled only by the elephant, an animal whose albino form is often compared to government policy-making, the Department for Work and Pensions has given the all clear for self-invested personal pensions (Sipps) to hold protected rights (PR).

Minister for pensions reform Mike O’Brien has allayed fears that personal accounts could be blighted by data failure, and responded to criticism of the latest deregulatory review.

The head of the £3.5bn London Pension Fund Auth­ority (LPFA) has warned that the final salary level of local government pension schemes is threatened by the private sector’s movement towards defined contribution.

A full two months after delivering swingeing changes to capital gains tax – and despite promising a response before Christmas – chancellor Alistair Darling has said he needs more time to consider potential concessions on the treatment of taper relief.

The NAPF is seeking support for a legal challenge to HM Revenue & Customs on the levying of VAT on investment services to pension funds.

Oil company Lasmo has sold its defined benefit pension liabilities to pensions buyout insurer Paternoster.

Scheme funding positions have been hit in the past month by falling equity and gilt markets.

MGM Assurance looks set to re-enter the impaired annuity market in 2008.

When the Pensions Commission first put forward ideas for a national pension savings scheme, it believed that a charge of around 0.3% a year or less could be achieved.

The majority of retirees know relatively little about annuities, and fewer still will ever seek advice from an IFA. So how can the industry help people get a better deal at retirement?

At a recent pensions conference, the current minister for pension reform, a Mr Mike O’Brien, apparently said something along the lines that all the bills he has been responsible for in his Parliamentary career have had their share of Corporal Joneses on the sidelines worrying and panicking about them.

Kalpana Fitzpatrick speaks to Tony King about his return to head up the pensions ombudsman’s office, the pending merger with the FOS, and its role with the personal accounts framework

The UK’s housing shortage, along with the drive towards sustainability, has pushed the home building sector into the limelight, but how will this affect pension funds?

Ted Scott talks candidly to Pensions Management about leading F&C’s Stewardship Growth fund, the benefits of sustainable investment, and successfully investing in Capita

If Labour wants to ensure personal accounts are a success, they must address the nagging issue of means-testing and find a solution for it before the scheme is launched

For the most part, the personal accounts system is recognised as being an efficient way of making the pensions industry work for consumers, but there are further challenges ahead

The rules for scheme administrators checking individual benefits and taxes have changed

Owen Walker speaks to Diligenta’s chief executive, David Power, about the BPO firm’s rapid rise to the top rungs of the ladder and its unique strengths in the life assurance market globally

The media may report that multi-manager has gone out of fashion, but the industry insists it can turn things around and generate outperformance

Will the reforms deliver?

Risk management controls and procedures are fundamental for trustees to maintain good governance, which in turn leads to a better run scheme

With insolvencies on the rise and greater regulation, more trustees are turning to buyout as a solution. But are there any alternatives?

With the buyout market cooling and venture capital too volatile, investors are looking at growth equity as an asset class to boost returns

Adding value to an existing book goes way beyond customers and revenue, with back office efficiency playing a crucial part in maximising costs

Axa & Winterthur Wealth Management is in the final stages of preparing to launch its multi-manager business in the second quarter of this year.

Canada Life has promoted Joanne Evans to marketing director.

Capita Hartshead finance director Malcolm Gardiner has been elected a director of independent research and discussion group Pensions Research Accountants Group (PRAG).