- Finnish earnings-related pension provider Varma has reaffirmed its support for Helsinki Pride.

Helsinki Pride is Finland's largest human rights and cultural event, supporting the rights, inclusion and well-being of people belonging to sexual and gender minorities. In June, Varma will again raise a large, rainbow-colored wall hanging on the exterior wall of the office on the Länsiväylä side to remind passersby of our work for an equal and diverse working life. The Varma team will also march in the Helsinki Pride parade. Varma director of responsibility and communications, Hanna Kaskela, commented: “Equality work is an essential part of Varma's responsibility, work culture and employer image. Our values are strongly aligned with equality and diversity.”

- Iceland's Frjálsi has announced that supplementary pension savings will now be part of Arion benefits.

This service at Frjálsi will be considered active if at least one deposit for supplementary pension savings has been received at Frjálsi in the last four months. Furthermore, supplementary pension savings at Frjálsi are now considered in the financial position of Arion customers. Thus, transferring supplementary pension savings from other custodians to Frjálsi could increase Arion benefits. The benefits vary depending on which level of the benefits system you are at. These could include reimbursement of insurance with Vördur, lower annual fees for credit cards, free debit card transactions and discounts on stock trading. However, housing loans at Frjálsi and personal assets that come from mandatory pension savings are not considered service elements in the benefit system, and personal assets are also not considered when assessing customers' financial position.

- Norway's KLP has invested NOK 1.15bn in health and welfare buildings as part of a new fund.

The new real estate fund will buy and lease important buildings such as care homes, health centres, nursing homes, educational buildings and student housing. The fund, which has been named Samfond, will be owned by institutional investors and managed by ABG Alternative Investments. To ensure rapid and good development, the fund has partnered with the state-owned company Allstad, which owns plots of land in over 300 municipalities. KLP director of investment and management, Oliver Siem, said: "We hope we contribute to providing municipalities with a good financing alternative as they work to solve their tasks. At the same time, we believe the fund is an attractive investment for KLP, with long, secure rental income.”

- The Netherlands' Rabobank Pension Fund has transferred the pension administration from Achmea Pension Services to another provider.

Rabobank said the upcoming transition to the Future Pensions Act (Wtp) was a natural moment for many pension funds, including Rabobank, to make a strategic choice for pension administration. The firm said it would have preferred to have made a different choice, but looks back on a "long-term, pleasant and fruitful collaboration." Achmea Pension Services will continue to focus on supporting the Wtp transition for the many other funds it serves. Rabobank will soon transfer the first two pension funds to the new pension system, although its pension fund will remain a client of Achmea Investment Management and Achmea Real Estate. Rabobank and Achmea will also remain important strategic partners in all other areas, apart from the pension fund, and will continue to work closely together.

- MBWL International has published the 4th Global Benefits Forecast 2025.

The study presents the latest global developments in the employee benefits environment of multinational companies. 204 multinational companies with employees in over 100 countries, representing 16 industries worldwide, participated in the global survey. It found that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) remained a focus, but one in five multinational companies were unsure about their future direction. It also said that the ageing workforce and succession planning were the biggest generational challenges, exacerbated by rising healthcare costs. The study also revealed that the administration of defined contribution pension plans was widely considered important, yet only half of the companies surveyed offered advice on retirement.

- Two beehives have been installed on the roof of Finnish earnings-related pension provider Ilmarinen's office building.

The company installed the nests and will maintain them going forward, as the bees fly from them to pollinate flowers in the surrounding area. Ilmarinen development manager, Niina Nurminen, commented: “As one of Finland's largest property owners and a significant responsible developer, we want to be a pioneer in promoting the industry's work to improve the state of biodiversity. The beehives on the roof of the office building are one concrete example of how we are implementing our plan.”

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