SWEDEN – Watson Wyatt says it is restructuring its Stockholm-based benefits consulting team – with some staff being based in the UK in future.

Spokesman Bruce Wraight confirmed that the firm was “in the process of restructuring our benefits consulting team based at our Stockholm office”.

“The team providing benefits consulting services to the Swedish market will become part of a new team serving the wider Nordic region, some of whom will be based in Stockholm with others based at our European headquarters in Reigate - which is the firm's main European centre for consulting to multinational organisations.

“We remain committed to the Swedish market and our overall levels of resource devoted to Sweden will be unchanged.”

Asked if staff would be leaving, he added: “Possibly. Some may transfer to other Watson Wyatt offices.” Everything was “currently under negotiation”.

The move comes amid what investment bank Carnegie has called a “structural change” taking place in the Swedish pension consulting market. Carnegie has exited, while Norway’s Storebrand is entering.

Meanwhile, Standard & Poor’s has said the amount of pension cash in the economy means that Sweden will shortly become a net creditor.

“Thanks to large assets held by the pension system, the general government is expected to be in a net creditor position by the end of 2005,” S&P stated in a report.

“As in Denmark, the net debt position remains significantly negative, compensated by a creditor position in equity holdings, thanks to advanced pension systems in both countries.”

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