Retirement

Scottish Friendly has appointed Michael Walker as its new chairman, taking over from existing chairman, Graham Webster.

Friends Provident will cut final bonus rates on its with-profits policies after gross investment returns on the fund hit -10.5% in 2008.

Pensioners choosing the open market option (OMO) are losing out on the best annuity deals due to delays by pension providers, according to income broker Rockingham Retirement.

Pension fund trustees are facing average returns of -13pc for 2008, preliminary State Street Investment Analytics figures reveal.

Marks & Spencer is set to cap employees' annual increases in pensionable pay and change early retirement benefits in a bid to cut costs.

Advisers should take a cautious approach to drawdown of Protected Rights within SIPPs, the Association of Member-Directed Pension Schemes (AMPS) warns, after receiving clarification on the rules from the Government.

The Government should help the public to save more by increasing ISA limits and bringing forward its plans for pensions auto-enrolment, says the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

Bankhall has announced MetLife's Retirement Portfolio is now available through its Portavista platform.

Pension contributions for small business workers have barely changed in more than ten years, according to the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA).

The state pension should double to give retired people any hope of living comfortably, according to Friends Provident.