Description: Two recent SOA research projects will be discussed. The first covers analysis of the drivers of mortality that shaped trends in US mortality. The second will look at using causes of death to predict future mortality improvements

Description: This is the Data Analysis Tool for the Mortality Improvement Model, MIM-2021.

Description: The presenters will share information about: -Insights into causes of death through the use of predictive models, based on a reinsured U.S. life portfolio, using logistic regression models to understand three main causes of death: cancer, heart and external causes; -Opioid abuse is a widespread phenomenon with drug-related mortality rates rising steeply in the U.S. over the past two decades. But what does the most recent data tell U.S. about the outlook for Opioid-related mortality?; -'Deaths of despair' have been publicized as a cause for the poor performance of U.S. mortality in recent years. The presenters will be looking at the different causes under this label, their evolution and explore the drivers behind them.

Description: The Society of Actuaries' Committee on Life Insurance Research, Product Development Section and Reinsurance Section are pleased to make the following report available. Authored by Allen Klein and Karen Rudolph of Milliman, this paper presents the results of research that identifies laboratory tests that are not widely used in the life insurance industry but could have potential benefits for use in the life insurance underwriting process. In addition, the authors have provided an Excel workbook illustrating the calculation for determining mortality savings.

Description: This session is based on research sponsored by the Society of Actuaries Mortality and Longevity Strategic Research Program, the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, and the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries to develop new methods and tools to enhance current mortality modeling and measurement actuarial practices. The presentation will discuss research accomplishments to date including a new mortality dataset that subdivides the U.S. population by education level and provides insightful analysis on mortality inequalities and mortality by cause of death. Additionally, research currently being performed or planned will be explained.

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: This is the user guide to the MIM-2021 Application Tool

Description: Jacquelyn B. James, Ph.D. is director of the Center on Aging & Work and the Sloan Research Network on Aging & Work at Boston College; she is also a fellow in the Behavioral and Social Science Division of the Gerontological Society of America. Her research has focused on the meaning and experience of work, gender roles and stereotypes, adult development, perceptions of older workers and emerging retirement issues. Since 2014, with support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Dr. James has been building the Sloan Research Network on Aging & Work, a multi-disciplinary, international network. Dr. James, along with Dr. Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, edited a special issue of the journal, Work, Aging & Retirement—Change in the Meaning and Experience of Work in Life. James is past president of the Society for the Study of Human Development and serves on the editorial board of Work, Aging & Retirement.

Description: These are the discussant comments for the concurrent Session 2B: Older-Age Mortality Trends from the January 4-6, 2017 Living to 100 Symposium in Orlando.