Description: Historically low interest rates, historically high equity market volatility and ever increasing life spans have made pension funding a hot topic. Financing the lifestyles of the superannuated through steadily improving investment performance is no longer a given. Market realities and stricter regulatory funding requirements are forcing plan sponsors to reduce overly optimistic assumptions about how well their investments will perform and increase assumptions about how long they will have to last. A growing number of well-known corporations are looking for help in trying to make the math work. This article discusses the opportunities for all who want to take on longevity risk.

Description: The Actuary Vol. 22, No. 6. In this article the author shares her ideas about the challenges we face as buyers and sellers of life reinsurance, and she describes some activities of the Reinsurance Section which address these challenges.