Two FTSE 100 companies have delayed urgent corporate restructuring due to concerns over the cost of meeting section 75 obligations.

Trustees feel confident about their skills and knowledge, but remain concerned about the next generation of trustees, according to Independent Trustee Services (ITS).

The Rolls-Royce pension schemes have reaped the rewards of derisking by amassing a £1.4bn surplus at a time when many schemes are in deficit.

Share prices fell immediately after the Pensions Regulator moved to ban companies cutting deficit contributions to pension schemes while still paying dividends to investors.

The Association of British Insurers’ (ABI) latest annuity figures have sparked a debate on promotion of the open market option (OMO).

This year will set a record for buyouts despite the recession, according to research from Pension Capital Strategies (PCS).

Making the government a guarantor for the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) would be unfair on those with personal pensions, claims a financial planning service.

Group presentations and special messages are being recommended for employees to explain the sharp falls in their defined contribution (DC) retirement pots over 2008.

I was particularly interested to read the article in the last Pensions Week, ‘Insolvencies a warning to trustees’.

The government has abandoned a full merger between the pensions ombudsman and the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) in favour of a closer working relationship.

Alternatives asset managers are facing pressure to lower fee levels, according to a survey by Mercer.

Experts have raised concerns over the government’s proposal to enable guaranteed minimum pensions (GMP) to convert into ordinary scheme benefits.

The Local Authority Pension Fund Forum is asking US companies to disclose their approach to dealing with the risks of climate change.

The Strathclyde Pension Fund is to keep its stock-lending programme suspended despite the lifting of the ban on the short-selling of financial stocks.

The basic pension framework we have in place today was put together way back in 1956. In the intervening half-century, we’ve simplified the legislation to the point where practically no one can understand it any more, but that doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with the underlying framework.

“We would like to introduce clarity on the figures around public sector pensions, particularly in terms of cost”

Charlie Kirby speaks to shadow pensions secretary Theresa May about MPs’ pensions and the refusal to bury the issues concerning means-testing and levelling down.

See also: Theresa May interview in full - audio

Timing a move to get the best prices and minimise costs in volatile conditions has become a major issue among trustees and managers

Like so much in the area broadly described as corporate governance, the academic research provides only limited support for the proposition that a company that behaves ‘responsibly’ generates higher or more sustainable returns for its shareholders.

Transparency is now common currency, but investors still seem reticent to challenge firms on their investment principles, says Adam Lent

Game show - The light dims, the crowd hushes and on the screen is the £1m question: “You have a choice of how to invest for your old age – what are you going to do?”. The options are: a) invest in a property, and hope that it triples in value by the time you retire; b) buy national lottery tickets each week, in the expectation of hitting the jackpot; c) put all your wages in a biscuit tin under the bed, as your personal cash fund; or d) save in a pension.

The final article on this subject will examine in more detail the actual process that trustees might follow in assessing a rights issue and its impact on the employer covenant.

Alan Pickering (pic) and Chris Swinson have been reappointed as non-executive directors of the Pensions Regulator.

Mercer has hired Jos Vermeulen (pic) as a senior consultant and principal in its financial strategy group based in London.

Aon Consulting has appointed Yusuf Samad as investment principal, where he will advise UK pension funds.

The Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) has appointed David Sellors to the position of chief operating officer.