New Zealand’s pension savings system is not a model the UK should follow as its government is focused on quantity rather than quality

More than half of UK businesses are quite or completely unaware about personal accounts, despite estimates that the reform will increase employment costs for almost a million firms.

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has admitted to “surprise” over the need for a sharp rise in its scaling factor.

How are schemes, most of whom see this as little more than another tax, able to plan for their future funding in these circumstances? The PPF has said this increase in the levy is to take account of the significant volatility we have seen in scheme risk during the last 12 months. This is ironic as the PPF is now adding to that volatility and risk.”

New Liberal Democrats shadow secretary for work and pensions Jenny Willott has voiced her support for scheme risk-sharing.

The value of hedge funds to pension schemes has been called into question by trustees increasingly dissatisfied with the high fees.

Trustees who lack confidence with alternative investment should beware of consultants that promise the world, a prominent trustee has warned.

Strong growth in the world’s emerging economies has pulled the price of agricultural and energy commodities higher and this is feeding through into global inflation. Against this backdrop, investors would be advised to consider whether they are properly positioned for an environment of rising prices.

The European exchange traded fund (ETF) market is expected to shoot up by 20% a year, reaching E150bn (£119bn) by the end of 2010, according to a report.

Despite consistently delivering above average returns since the fund launched in 2000, Rathbone UK Managed Pension Fund manager Karen McCusker has revealed that she is disappointed the fund isn’t bigger.

The number of hedge funds launching this year could fall to just 500, despite demand for the asset class increasing around the globe.

Over the past nine months, the contagion of the subprime market has burst the debt bubble, resulting in widening spreads and tighter liquidity.

The increase in larger and more complex schemes weighing up bulk buyout will lead to risk spreading through syndication, providers and consultants have predicted.

On the day Britain’s oldest man turned 112, consultant Hymans Robertson announced its plan to launch a longevity analytics service to provide pension schemes with tailored longevity assumptions.

The Pensions Management Institute (PMI) has re-elected Steve Delo as its president, with Mike Sullivan taking one of the vice-president roles.

The pensions industry has welcomed the risk-sharing consultation, saying it should bring extra flexibility and end the two-tier system of the “DB haves” and “DC have-nots”.

The pensions industry risks losing a chance to stem the closure of DB pension schemes unless it supports the case for risk-sharing.

Plans to abolish the protected rights survivor’s benefit rule in 2012 has been welcomed by industry figures as a “long overdue change”.

Fears that the government’s taxation of the resident non-domicile (RND) community would lead to a mass exodus are unfounded, according

More than two million people plan to pull out of with-profits funds as satisfaction in their investment performance continues to dwindle.

MetLife has launched a personal pension that it claims is the only preretirement product on the market that offers both capital and income guarantees.

I read with interest your story about Paul Hughes and the Heath Lambert Group pension scheme (Pensions Management June 2008).

The Turner & Newall case has improved trustees’ negotiating position and has far-reaching implications for any financial restructuring of a company, Kroll’s head of pensions advisory services has told PM.

Govt won’t budge over means-testing since the government published its white paper in December 2006, entitled Personal accounts – a new way to save, the pensions industry has voiced concerns that the means-tested state benefits system will seriously undermine the success of this project.

With the number of ‘at retirement’ investors set to rise 90% by 2013, it is crucial that retirees are better informed on the increasingly difficult decisions they will have to make

I went to an exhibition in London recently about Dan Dare and the envisioning of the future that took place in the Eagle comic back in the 1950s. Frank Hampson who drew the first Dan Dare strips is sometimes referred to as ‘the man who drew tomorrow’.

Tom Willetts speaks to industry pioneer Robin Ellison about the difficulties in restructuring an already complicated pensions system, and his solution for protecting occupational schemes

Despite falling growth, rocketing inflation and predictions of economic doom and gloom, investment grade credit spreads could provide a valid default asset class

Charlie Awdry speaks to Owen Walker about the volatility of Chinese equities, buying on the brink of an investment sweet spot and the perils of underestimating the fluctuating costs of raw materials

The economy is currently experiencing a liquidity trough and the central banks are having to act quickly to keep the wheels of the markets well oiled

Passing through their pension risks allows local authority pension schemes to add more value, while employees are able to retain comparable benefits

Two sets of regulations for schemes to consult when making changes means double trouble

• Anna Sofat, Director - Addidi Wealth
• Alistair Hardie, Marketing manager - Standard Life
• Harry Katz, Principal - Norwest Consultants
• Iain Mcgowan, Head of retirement income & planning - Scottish Widows
• Dennis Hall, Chartered financial planner - Yellowtail Financial Planning
• Dave White, Managing director - Hornbuckle Mitchell
• Rachel Vahey, Head of pensions development - Aegon Scottish Equitable

Buyout is booming as the credit crunch is forcing prices down and firms grow keen to offload liabilities. But who does it really benefit: the members, the company, or the provider?

It was a glittering night at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel for the Pension and Investor Provider Awards. The event was hosted by Channel 4 newsreader Alex Thomson, who kept the many luminaries from the world of pensions and investments entertained with enthralling and witty anecdotes of live broadcasting and foreign assignments.

When is the right time to hedge your liabilities on the inflation swaps market?

The ASB’s proposals on the financial reporting of pensions include both benefits and disadvantages for final salary schemes

The regulator’s revised clearance guidance has gone some way to increase the impact of the trustee’s role, but how does this affect corporate relations?

Former Sesame chief executive Patrick Gale has blown into Just Retirement with the task of substantially growing the company and improving its distribution.

B&CE Benefit Schemes has enlisted Frank McCann to help employers prepare for the introduction of personal accounts.

Pimco has finally found a replacement for Paul Craven as head of institutional business development UK, in the shape of John Griffiths.