Mortality improvement has been growing as an important actuarial assumption even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic as pension, life insurance and annuity actuaries do forward projections and assess future plan liabilities and reserve requirements. Most of the historical focus for mortality improvement has been on population mortality trends, with additional considerations as to how these trends then play out in the working population and insured cohorts.

The Society of Actuaries has worked with a variety of researchers, staff and key mortality actuaries in practice to develop additional research to help refine the methods and models that can be used for assessing mortality improvement. This includes deeper looks at the US population by socioeconomic deciles and quintiles; developing broader models that can take past mortality improvement and be used for creating future assumptions and establishing a mortality broad Expert Member Panel of over 80 actuaries, underwriters, medical directors and demographers that provide feedback on current event topics and trends. This presentation will highlight the variety of research work in this field and note how actuaries are using this information in their practice work.

Find the Q&A here: Q&A on 'Societal Issues in Insurance and Pensions'