PENSIONS: LATEST STATISTICS SHOW STEADY INCREASE IN PENSION FUND MEMBERS.

The number of individual pension funds increased in nearly half of all EU Member States between 1999 and 2000, according to recent figures published by Eurostat, the European Community's Statistical Office. Spain registered the highest growth rate at 9%, followed by Austria with 5.6%. Four Member States - Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland - reported a decline in the number of pension funds.

Over the same period, pension fund membership increased significantly in Sweden, Ireland, Spain, Austria and Italy, with rises of between 9.5% and 25.5%. Only Denmark and Finland showed a decline, of 3.3% and 7.2%...