Description: This article talks about RPEC’s February 2014 release of exposure draft reports for RP-2014 base tables and the MP-2014 projection scale (for use by U.S. pension actuaries), the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) new final pension mortality tables for Canadian pension plans.

Description: This article discusses the concept of Conservation of Mortality ("Conservation"). Conservation is the modeling principle that ensures consistency between assumptions of the total mortality of a population and mortality among population subsets. This article discusses the use cases for Conservation and the many ways that one could implement it in a model or an experience study. This article also discusses the potential issues that arise when using Conservation, and how one might solve or alleviate these issues.

Description: This article briefly summarizes the exposure draft recently issued by the Society of Actuaries' Task Force on Smoker/Non-Smoker Mortality.

Description: this article provides a detailed, comprehensive and independent analysis of the impact of introducing the single-tier state pension.

Description: In the June 2014 issue of Product Matters, Doug Robbins of Pacific Life authored a fascinating article entitled “Velocity of Diversification.” Therein, he proposed a pricing measure that describes the “…speed at which confidence in profitability is attained”. How can stochastic modeling of mortality be applied to analyze the velocity of diversification, and how would that measure be affected by volatility in the underlying assumptions?

Description: A summary of the progress and recommendations of the Mortality Study Working Group and a request support in implementing the recommendations.

Description: Summary of the recommendations of the Society of Actuaries Mortality Study Working Group, whose purpose was to re-evaluate the scope and content of the Society’s mortality experience studies and to develop long term strategic direction.

Description: This article is based on a recent high face amount mortality study completed for the SOA. The data was derived from the Milliman Industry Mortality Study and Analysis (MIMSA), a recent comprehensive life insurance industry study of mortality and lapse. There were a number of interesting findings in the high face amount study, several of which are discussed in this article.

Description: This article reviews studies find that the mortality gap has significantly reduced – though not eliminated – the overall progressivity of Social Security.

Description: This article announces the publication of Phase II of Factors Affecting Retirement Mortality FARM by Victor Modugno. This article also provides a brief summary of the publication and its availability. From Pension Section News, March 2004, Issue No. 54.