Je ne regrette rien. A French phrase we are all familiar with, but which is quite hard to say and even harder to actually do. Investment is an area that is ripe for regret when decisions are evaluated with the benefit of hindsight (you only need to watch Deal or No Deal for a daily example of this), but I believe trustee time is too short to worry about regrets.

The Pensions Regulator is holding urgent talks with the insurance industry to clarify how members would be compensated if an insurer defaults on its obligations.

The Society of Pension Consultants (SPC) has asked for a temporary amnesty on PPF levies and longer deficit reduction periods.

The pensions deficit of FTSE 100 companies would stand at around £100bn without the recent fall in value of AA bonds, according to a Pension Capital Strategies (PCS) report.

The parent of a multi-employer pension scheme has been accused of failing in its moral duties to inform all member schemes of legislative changes.

Rules that limit local government pension schemes’ (LGPS) private equity and hedge fund allocations are likely to be lifted.

The Royal Mail Group has appointed Zurich as the service provider for its new defined contribution (DC) scheme.

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has appointed Alan Rubenstein, a former managing director at Lehman Brothers, as its next chief executive.

Pension schemes that have investments based in the Netherlands are in line for a multi-million pound windfall after a ground-breaking Dutch court ruling.

The end of the Financial Services Authority’s ban on short selling is set to reopen an additional source of revenue for pension schemes.

Stylo, the Bradford-based footwear retailer, is attempting an innovative restructuring to avoid its pension scheme falling into the Pension Protection Fund (PPF).

Balanced pooled funds are now investing more in overseas shares than UK equities, according to a survey.

An average 40-year-old male civil servant will receive his pension for 29 years following retirement at age 60, according to government data.

Buyout levels will match the pace set in 2008 despite the economic downturn, according to Lane Clarke & Peacock (LCP).

Friends Provident has reported significant drops in its life and pensions business.

Analysis: The plight that many charities are facing from their pension fund obligations has been highlighted by the funding wrangles at Age Concern, says Charlie Kirby.

Many healthy organisations will see the decision to derisk their DB pensions in 2009 as a no-brainer – but getting the timing right may be a much more difficult task.

In February last year, the Pensions Regulator put forward a proposal suggesting pension schemes who used anything less than the long cohort longevity assumption in arriving at a valuation would face regulatory scrutiny. This prompted a vociferous response from the pensions industry resulting in an apparent U-turn by the watchdog – but what is the long cohort, and what does it mean for pension schemes?

Companies that differentiate between the boardroom and the coalface in terms of pension provision should be forced to disclose why, says Tom Powdrill.

Getting a first in maths at Oxford and becoming a leading actuary would be enough for many people in pensions, but Mark Da Silva is also one of the country’s top jazz musicians.

In this month’s Trusty 30 survey, Pensions Week asks scheme trustees how economic turmoil will affect the industry’s processes.

At the start of 2009, Pensions Week invited 15 leading law firms operating in the pensions sphere to reveal the inner workings of their caseloads, as well as their opinions on what 2009 and beyond holds.

As deficits grow, trustees must remember to examine their sponsoring employer’s legal duties as well as their financial position, says Roderick Morton.

Trustees are under increasing pressure, and it is important for them to consider in advance how they would deal with any conflicts of interest that could arise for their advisers, says David James.

Anti-franking requirements

Anti-franking legislation requires that statutory indexation of an individual’s guaranteed minimum pension (GMP) is paid in addition to any amount by which the scheme benefits exceed the GMP, and is not deemed to be covered, or ‘franked’, by any other scheme benefits.

Hermes Real Estate has named Steven Grahame as chief investment officer in alternatives to spearhead investment in debt, derivatives and property shares.

The Association of Real Estate Funds (AREF) has appointed Bill Hughes as its new chairman.

Hermes Private Equity has appointed Lynsey Register (pic) as investment manager.

Tokio Marine Asset Management London has appointed Polly Smith (pic) as head of sales and marketing for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.