Most trustees and pension fund managers back current levels of governance requirements for their schemes.

The South Yorkshire Pensions Authority deposited cash with an Icelandic bank to avoid flouting its own governance rules, Pensions Week can reveal.

The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) is to launch a venture next month to help pension schemes take collective action to improve corporate governance.

The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has ratcheted up its effort to save defined benefit (DB) schemes from closure with a range of initiatives.

Small to medium-sized pension funds are showing new interest in gold-based exchange traded commodities (ETCs) to hedge equity exposure against the recession.

Regulations allowing for trivial commutation have been put off until autumn.

Former welfare reform minister Frank Field has launched a private members’ bill to ban the short selling of shares, with the support of 11 Labour MPs.

Scottish Widows will face a full court hearing into the allegation that it mis-sold investment funds to a pension scheme this August.

The £1.8bn Avon Pension Fund has saved millions of pounds by delaying a 10% allocation to property for 18 months.

Dun & Bradstreet’s credit ratings have been a common complaint on the consultation into designing a fairer Pension Protection Fund (PPF) levy.

The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) has refuted a claim that its methodology for the scheme-based levy is unsuitable for defined benefit (DB) schemes where members accrue cash benefits.

Aon Consulting is to offer pension funds a one-stop shop for consulting and fund management, through a partnership with Russell Investments.

One of the main changes that will be brought about by the Pensions Act 2008 in 2012 is that all employers in the UK will be required to have something called a qualifying workplace pension scheme (QWPS) available, so that their eligible employees can be auto-enrolled into it.

Analysis: Legal nuances in the UK have thus far meant a lower take-up of class actions here than in the US, says Charlie Kirby, but the credit crunch fallout is pushing it rapidly up trustees’ agenda

With the move to 50% member-nominated trustees (MNTs) still expected, and the demands on trustees increasing, more schemes are opting to select their MNTs, rather than rely on elections.

With a vast array of insurance companies offering pension products, what factors do employers need to consider before deciding who to appoint to run their contract-based scheme? It’s not easy. There are many factors to take into consideration, and cost is not the only issue.

Employers can certainly make this decision on their own. But with a growing focus on governance, employers are increasingly looking to pension consultants to guide and advise them.

Governance reform is dependent on strong shareholder engagement, says Tom Powdrill, or regulators may be for forced to step in to pick up the slack.

Office life, particularly for City types, can be quite stifling. A lack of parks, trees and space can make one feel claustrophobic, so it’s little wonder that Kevin Newton, finance director at Yorkshire-based wealth management company Prosperis, gets his kicks outside of work by embarking on challenging walks.

In this month’s Trusty 30 survey, Pensions Week asks schemes whether they are saturated or undersupplied with information – and how much of it is truly useful.

How successful are we at engaging young employees on pensions? What works best, and what age range defines ‘younger people’?

What exactly is an absolute return fund made of? What are the risks and what does its success look like, asks Quentin Fitzsimmons

The Pensions Management Institute (PMI) has elected Mike Sullivan as president to succeed Steve Delo in July.

B&CE Benefit Schemes has appointed Jo Gibbs as communications manager.

JLT Benefit Solutions has appointed Mark Adamson as client director to work across the firm’s administration services.

Xafinity Consulting has appointed Lyndon Jones as sales director of the firm’s national sales team.