Description: The Canadian public health care delivery system continues to experience growing needs for increased funding. The total health care delivery system today costs Canadians $98 billion a year or about 9.7 percent of GDP. Of that total cost, 71 percent is paid by the government, which means the taxpayers. While that may pale in comparison to the costs in the U.S., it does make the Canadian system one of the five most expensive health care delivery systems in the world. While today’s cost pressures are of major concern, of even more concern are the costs being projected by many participants in the current health care debate for the period when the Baby Boom makes higher demands on the Canadian health care delivery system. Traditional projection methods, however, do not differentiate between the elderly who survive the year versus those who die as to their use of health care systems. This paper first looks at the impact that this differentiation could have on projected costs. Second, the paper looks at the impact that the wide use of Advance Directives [also called Living Wills] might have on future health care costs and some of the issues surrounding their use. From Actuarial Research Clearing House 2004, Vol. 1.

Description: Chapter 7 analyzes the demographic variables that could have an effect on the future costs of social security, and then discusses a wealth-transfer model that could be used to stabilize the financing of Canada's total social security system and that would also lower the ultimate cost of Canada's retirement income security programs. From Economic Security for an Aging Canadian Population, M-RS99-2.

Description: Paper provides an overview of the impacts of population aging on the design and marketing of group life and health and group pension products over the next 40 years. While the paper is written with a group focus, the implications of the material for individual product design and marketing are immediately obvious and equally important. From the Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1994, Vol. 46.

Description: Chapter 4 review the evolution of the health care system in Canada, and how an aging population will create cost-escalation pressures on the health care system. The chapter does not address issues concerning the efficiency and efficacy of the present health care system. From Economic Security for an Aging Canadian Population, M-RS99-2.

Description: A report on the Panamerican Congress of Actuaries in Bogota, Colombia in the fall of 1999. This is a forum for actuaries from Latin America. The topic of the conference was Social Security Reform in Latin America

Description: Panelists discuss issues and concerns about the long-term viability of the Canadian Pension Plan CPP. An update of the financial aspects of the system is presented and experts discuss the issues and alternatives under consideration. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 23, No. 2.

Description: This session from the 1995 SOA Boston Meeting covers the efforts in the SOA basic education system to redesign the examination process and the status of the redesign. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Vol. 21, No. 4b.

Description: This session from the 1995 SOA Vancouver Meeting addresses the critical issues of the financing for the Social Security systems in the U.S. and Canada. From the Record of the Society of Actuaries, Volume 21, No. 3b.

Description: This paper explores a range of public policy issues stemming from proposals to introduce some form of defined contribution system into Social Security in the U. S. and Canada. From In Defense of Pay-as-You-Go Paygo Financing of Social Security, M-RS99-1.

Description: There is growing evidence of a positive correlation between income levels and longevity. In short, high-income earners live longer. That also means that high-income earners get larger retirement-income security benefits from Social Security. This correlation raises a number of questions: if Social Security contributions are a level percentage of earnings, and high-income earners live longer and receive larger Social Security benefits, then is Social Security regressive? If higher-income actually causes enhanced longevity, then would providing more Social Security benefits enhance population life expectancy? This paper analyzes both the OASDI system of the United States and the Canada/Quebec Pension Plans in Canada to see if these systems are 'a good deal' and whether they are regressive or progressive as defined above. From Actuarial Research Clearing House 1998 Vol. 1.