Investment

The FTSE 100 Index has broken a two-day trend, shedding about 12 points to 4,793 this morning when shares in the UK's two largest drugmakers fell after US health officials said two products needed closer safety reviews.

Research by provider JPMorgan Fleming suggests women in the UK on averge already expect to have lower incomes in retirement than men.

Three out of four employers with final salary pensions say they are certain to face future funding dilemmas, indicates new research from the National Association of Pension Funds.

Final changes to the Pensions Bill will be known today with one last push to pass an amendment concerning the 75-age rule affecting annuities, says Liberal Democrat pensions spokesman Lord Oakeshott.

Government MPs have scuppered key changes to the Pensions Bill passed a day earlier by the House of Lords, which would have forced the government to scrap the rule forcing pensioners to purchase and annuity at age 75.

In the UK this morning, the FTSE 100 index is back on the rise picking up about 7 points to 4,776, paced by MM02.

The Government has again been defeated on key issues regarding amendments to the Pensions Bill, following the House of Lords' backing to scrap the rule forcing pensioners to buy an annuity at age 75.

The Governments decision to extend coverage of its Financial Assistance Scheme has been taken to the House of Lords and the House of Commons this week for a third reading.

Winterthur Life has launched a new stand-alone site called Morrison-line, designed specifically to provide IFAs with up-to-date pension news, views and regulatory up-dates.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has called for a mandatory retirement age to be set at 65 but with concessions allowing the individual employers to stipulate the end point of the employer-employee relationship.