Description: Drivers for mortality are apparently linked to socio-economic differentials within different societal groups. Actuaries are not the only profession interested in unravelling the mystery of why different groups within society experience such different mortality rates. The author gives examples from occupational pension plans in Canada, the UK and Germany.

Description: Socio-economic mortality differentials are important to insurers, reinsurers as well as the general public. Detecting them, tracking them and explaining them is the subject of ongoing research and debate within the actuarial community as well as the wider public. The intention is to raise awareness within the reinsurance section membership for mortality differentials and concentration risk, as well as highlighting the value of interdisciplinary work and modern statistical methods. This intention overlaps with the goal of the SOA's Living to 100 Symposium, to be held in January 2017 in Orlando, Fla.