内容摘要：At least 54,249 people have been killed in Gaza since then, including 3,986 since Israel resumed its offensive, according to the territory's health ministry.

At least 54,249 people have been killed in Gaza since then, including 3,986 since Israel resumed its offensive, according to the territory's health ministry.

He added that most pension funds "invest in the UK and locally anyway".Zoe Alexander, a director at the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, said the changes would have "significant implications" for how pension schemes operated.

But she added: "Increased consolidation has the potential to improve retirement outcomes through improved governance, wider investment diversification and improved bargaining power."Miles Celic, chief executive of The City UK, representing the financial services industry, backed the chancellor's assertion that the move could "help drive economic growth".A former Liberal Democrat pensions minister, Sir Steve Webb, who is now a partner at consultants LCP, described the news as "truly a red letter day for pension schemes, their members and the companies who stand behind them".

"The government has clearly been bold in this area and this opens up the potential for this surplus money to be used more productively to benefit scheme members, firms and the wider economy," he added.One of Labour's first moves after taking office last year was the announcement of a pension review.

In November the chancellor floated her "megafunds" plan, which covers retirement savings for the majority of UK workers in two ways.

Firstly, there are the 86 different local authority pension schemes, which provide for more than six million people in their retirement, the majority low-paid women. The £392bn in these defined benefit schemes will be merged in just six asset pools by March next year.In a defined benefit scheme a worker pays into their pension and is paid a pre-determined amount based on their salary and length of service.

Local investment targets will be agreed for local authority pension schemes for the first time, the Treasury said.Secondly, defined contribution schemes currently worth £800bn, and covering millions of other private and public sector workers across the country, will also be consolidated.

In defined contribution schemes workers are not guaranteed a specific amount. Instead their pension depends on the performance of the fund in the years before retirement.By 2030 the government says there should be more than 20 pension funds worth more than £25bn, in contrast to the current 10.