Description: Article discusses the how the older population has been treated throughout history with low regard and often as a burden on society.

Description: Actuaries have been indebted to the Statistical Bureau of the Metropolitan Life for studies in vital statistics associated with the names of Dublin, Lew and Spiegelman and a recent study by Quint and Cody is in this tradition. It is headed Preeminence and Mortality and was presented to the Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association last November. This article shares further perspectives about longevity, and the characteristics of people who experience long lives.

Description: This is a summary of topics discussed at the 1996 Bowles Symposium: “The Old Age Crisis: Actuarial Opportunities,” September 26-27, 1996, at Georgia State University, Atlanta.

Description: The author explores the issue of longevity risk with its implications for life insurers and society at large, and concludes that the actuarial profession is in a unique position to understand longevity risk and offer solutions.

Description: The author of this article served as an author, panelist, moderator, and as the keynoter for the January 2011 first Living to 100 symposium. This article looks at issues by stakeholder discussed at the symposium, points to some of the papers presented, and leaves the reader with ideas about some of the big questions about longevity that are facing society.

Description: It is now almost 120 years since Makeham extended Gompertz’s efforts to find a simple mathematical law which would reflect the mortality experience of a group of lives and also simplify the calculation of monetary values. This article discusses a radically different approach, relating mortality improvements to economic condition, proposed by Kohler and Alcock in an article in the Journal of Peace Research, Vol XIII entitled Economic Law of Life.

Description: The work of the Society of Actuaries’ Committee on Post-Retirement Needs and Risks—including focus groups and Risks and Process of Retirement Surveys—offers important insights into when, how and why people retire.

Description: Industry briefings and SOA news

Description: Anna Rappaport's review of the book, Cyberbug, by Michael Cowell The story follows an imaginary actuary and his family into the 21st century and tells how the dramatic changes around them alter their lives.

Description: In the article in The Actuary, April 1972 the writer referred to the 15-year study of aging by Professor Edman Palmore of the Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development of Duke University. His research indicated that work satisfaction was the best overall predictor of longevity and the second was overall happiness, reflecting a person's general satisfaction with his or her situation. The author discusses Work in America a paper written during the Nixon administration.