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Explainers | Expert response

Thoughts on the Canadian Institute of Actuaries’ Mortality Improvements Research

This is the beginning of a multi-part series covering the recently released Report to the CIA’s Project Oversight Group on Mortality Improvements Research (the “report”). We are pleased to present key observations as well as outline important considerations that we will cover in future instalments of this series.

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All News and insights

All the latest information, news and research from the Club Vita team.

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Explainers | External publications

Zooming in on ZIP Codes: Using Socio-Economic Factors to Tailor U.S. Pension Plan Longevity Assumption

The United States is a diverse nation made up of many people with distinctly different characteristics.

1 January 2020

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts 19-12 - International – How harsh are the winters in Canada, the UK and the US?

In this edition of Top Charts International, Richard Brown, Erik Pickett and Daniel Reddy discuss whether more people die in the winter than in the summer.

17 December 2019

Opinion & experiences | Behavioural economics blogs

The availability heuristic - forefront of your mind, forefront of your opinion

Erik Pickett discusses the availability heuristic in his latest blog.

12 December 2019

Opinion & experiences | Behavioural economics blogs

The outcome bias: the adversary of insurance

In this blog, Erik Pickett discusses a cognitive bias known as the outcome bias.

23 October 2019

General interest | VitaMins

VitaMins Health: Getting clued up on flu

Every year significantly more people die during the winter months than at other times of the year, and recently we have seen huge variability in ‘excess winter deaths’, potentially impacted by the severity of the flu.

3 October 2019

General interest | VitaMins

Are Canadians continuing to live longer?

In May 2019, Statistics Canada reported that “Life expectancy stops increasing in Canada”1, since, for the first time in more than forty years, Canadian life expectancy at birth (for both men and women) did not increase from 2016 to 2017.

26 July 2019

General interest | VitaMins

‘Til death do us part: does the 3-year rule always hold true?

For many members in defined benefit pension plans, monthly benefits are not only paid for as long as the retirees live, but also then paid to surviving spouses for as long as they live.

22 May 2019

General interest | VitaMins

Feeling the heat?

Last year, when I told my British friends and colleagues I was moving to Canada, the most common reaction (aside from “good riddance”) was “it’s cold there, isn’t it?”. They might have been shocked to learn of the very unfortunate reports that there were up to 70 deaths caused by the July heatwave in Quebec this year.

22 October 2018

General interest | VitaMins

Quality of life: impacts on future longevity?

We often look at significant medical advances that extend life as likely contributors to further improvements in longevity. But, but could additional improvements in both health and life expectancy also be gained through advances that enhance the quality of life for the elderly?

25 August 2018

Research & technical | Research & technical notes

Club Vita Canada - Key Factors for Explaining Differences in Canadian Pensioner Baseline Mortality

Research paper on the initial results on longevity predictors conducted using Club Vita Canada’s data set

1 May 2018

Explainers | External publications

Why hedging longevity risk may be right for your plan

13 December 2017

Business updates | Press releases

Think public-sector pensioners outlive those in the private sector? Think again.

New results from Club Vita Canada: There are better ways to differentiate how long pensioners live – one of the most crucial: their postal code.

22 June 2017

Explainers | VitaMins

The future of Canadian longevity risk management - Key findings from 2016 study

1 June 2017

Business updates | Press releases

Canadian pensioners not living as long as expected

Ground-breaking results from Club Vita Canada reveal some DB pension plans are overestimating their liabilities

21 February 2017

General interest | VitaMins

How would a universal cancer vaccine affect Canadian pension plans?

16 June 2016

General interest | VitaMins

Where Canadians live may have a significant impact on how long they’ll live

There’s an old actuarial joke in which someone finds himself treading water in the middle of a 10-foot-deep lake, after being told by an actuary that the lake was five feet deep on average. Averages can help you test the waters. But a proper understanding of your environment often requires a deeper dive.

8 March 2016

General interest | VitaMins

Do policies that encourage later retirement impact some workers more than others?

9 February 2016

Business updates | Press releases

Club Vita Canada to revolutionize longevity measurement and management for pension plans

TORONTO – Canadians are living longer, and longevity risk has become the biggest unmanaged threat facing Canadian defined benefit (DB) pension plans.

5 October 2015