News analysis: The shadow pensions minister has urged schemes to take a role in providing annuity brokering advice to ensure greater member purchasing power, but industry figures have raised concerns over how this could be implemented.

News analysis: More than half of employers back auto-escalation schemes as a way to increase employee contributions, according to new research, but they may face challenges in tailoring contribution rates to members.

Year in review: This year saw many employers focus on communicating auto-enrolment to their newly enrolled staff and working to reduce the impact on employees, resulting in lower-than-expected opt-out rates.

Carillion improved its governance and data to ensure a good deal on its £1bn longevity swap, as it sought to hedge greater-than-anticipated life expectancy among members of its DB schemes.

Royal Mail Pension Plan is considering a revamp of its communications strategy after more than half of its members said they do not understand how their scheme works.

2014 preview: Next year will provide defined benefit schemes more derisking opportunities, while defined contribution schemes may need to diversify further during their growth phase, investment experts have predicted.

News analysis: Schemes should take a more integrated approach to investment, funding and covenant in their risk management, according to the regulator’s consultation on its DB code of practice.

Kent Pension Fund has decided to increase its exposure to property by almost 20 per cent to take advantage of attractive yields.

The Royal County of Berkshire Pension Fund is reevaluating the structure of its absolute return portfolio following the failure to achieve its benchmark target.