Featured Article

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.

Filter content

We have sorted our articles by the general type of content, and by the specific Club Vita series to which each article belongs. You can search using just one or both options (although articles may not appear in all combinations of both filters).

Remove all ✕

Top charts

Bite-sized longevity analysis in the form of our favourite charts

Displaying 28 out of 28

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts 24-09: Happiness and life expectancy

In this edition of Top Charts, Jill Jamieson and Erik Pickett look at the correlation between happiness and life expectancy at birth.

18 September 2024

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts 24-02: Wait times in Canada’s health system

Wait times for medical procedures in Canada have increased steadily and dramatically over the past 30 years, a trend made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. Delays in receiving health care can impact quality of life while waiting and worsen ultimate health outcomes. In this edition of Top Charts, Michael Reid discusses the increase in wait times and explores what impact these wait times may have on longer-term mortality.

31 January 2024

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts 23-13: Tontine days of retirement

In this holiday-special edition of Top Charts, Erik Pickett and Carmen Gatta explore which group from song the 12 days of Christmas with whom it would be best to enter a tontine contract.

3 January 2024

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts 23-11: Canada’s opioids crisis

Canada’s opioids crisis is an intricate public health issue. Disproportionately affecting men, it has quickly become the worst drug crisis in history. Similar to the US, Canada has been experiencing increases in opioids related deaths for years and this issue has seemingly been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this edition of Top Charts, Alexandra Sonnenwirth discusses the increase in opioids related deaths across Canada and what it might mean for pension plans and insurers.

24 November 2023

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts 23-09: Canadian excess deaths in 2022

Excess deaths in Canada in 2020 and 2021 were well below the excess death levels in both the US and the UK. In 2022, while the US and the UK saw important decreases in excess deaths, Canada experienced significant increases, bringing excess death levels well above the levels in the other regions. In this edition of Top Charts, Alexandra Sonnenwirth discusses the increase in excess mortality in Canada in 2022.

19 September 2023

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts 23-06: Are the top causes of death reflected in our search history?

There can often be a disconnect between perception and reality with regard to things that have the largest impact on our lives. But how much is this the case with causes of death? In this edition of Top Charts Mia Marcellus compares the top causes of death in our different geographies with their relative Internet search frequency.

5 July 2023

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts 23-03: Universal state retirement ages

There has recently been widespread debate across the globe (e.g. in Canada, the UK, the US and France) about potential increases in state retirement ages. Much of the debate has focused on the increases in life expectancy since the introduction of state retirement provisions – but life expectancy is not the same for everyone in society. In this edition of Top Charts, Alexandra Sonnenwirth explores this issue and asks whether it’s fair to have a one-size fits all retirement age.

30 March 2023

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts 22-12: Were all excess deaths during the pandemic in Canada due to COVID?

In this edition of Top Charts, Michael Reid discusses excess deaths through the pandemic in Canada and asks whether they were all due to COVID.

13 December 2022

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts 22-11: Total number of human lives and deaths ever

In this edition of Top Charts, Erik Pickett and Carmen Gatta look at the total number of people who have ever lived and died. Are more people alive today than have lived and died in the past?

5 December 2022

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts 22-09: Is there a gender pension gap in Canadian Defined Benefit pensions?

In this edition of Top Charts, Shantel Aris discusses the gender pension gap in Canada and its impact on longevity.

21 September 2022

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts 22-06: How have life expectancy and health adjusted life expectancy changed over time?

In this edition of Top Charts, Shantel Aris discusses life expectancy and health adjusted life expectancy (HALE) in Canada, the UK, and the US and how these have changed over time.

14 June 2022

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts 22-05: Retirement preparedness vs longevity pessimism

In this edition of Top Charts, Erik Pickett presents a second chart from our recent Longevity, lifestyle and retirement perception survey, 2022 showing the relationship between retirement preparedness and longevity pessimism in Canada, the UK and US.

25 May 2022

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts 22-04: Longevity pessimism

In this edition of Top Charts, Erik Pickett presents a chart from our recent Longevity, lifestyle and retirement perception survey, 2022 showing the level of longevity pessimism in Canada, the UK and US.

22 April 2022

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts 22-03: 2021 excess deaths

Question: How did 2021 excess deaths in Canada, US and UK compare?

15 March 2022

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts 22-03: What is the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the prevalence of disability in the workplace?

In this edition of Top Charts, Shantel Aris discusses the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Canadian workforce and the potential knock-on effects for pension plans.

1 March 2022

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts 21-12: longevity as a proportion of total funding risk for Canadian pension plans

In this edition of Top Charts, Saeed Ahmadi looks at what proportion longevity makes up of the total funding risk of pension plans in Canada.

28 December 2021

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts 21-11: Antibiotic use in meat production

In this edition of Top Charts, Erik Pickett looks at the levels of antibiotic use in meat production in different countries around the world.

30 November 2021

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts 21-10 - Canada - How has COVID-19 impacted mortality for Canadian DB pensioners?

In this edition of Top Charts, Shantel Aris looks at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Canadian defined benefit (DB) pensioners’ mortality by comparing 2020 monthly deaths in Club Vita’s dataset to the five preceding years.

1 October 2021

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts 21-07: World records, 100m sprint vs life expectancy

Inspired by the start of the Tokyo Olympic games, in this edition of Top Charts Nick Chadwick and Erik Pickett compare the progression of world records for the 100m sprint and for life expectancy at birth.

23 July 2021

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts 21-06: When do people retire, and how has this changed over time?

In this edition of Top Charts, Shantel Aris looks at the data for average retirement age in the public and private sector in Canada.

1 June 2021

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts 21-03: Excess deaths in Canada: 2020 compared to history

In this edition of Top Charts, Richard Brown looks at excess deaths in Canada and compares the extreme experience in 2020 to previous years back to 1921.

1 March 2021

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts 20-12: age profile of first wave versus second wave COVID-19 cases

In this regular column, Club Vita’s longevity experts will help you visualize the often abstract world of longevity by introducing some of their favourite charts.

1 December 2020

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts 20-10: International – COVID-19 compared to other leading causes of death

In this edition of Top Charts, Erik Pickett examines how the numbers of COVID-19 deaths compare to other leading causes of death in the UK, US and Canada.

30 October 2020

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts 20-09: The Bee-swarm chart – illustrating diversity

Question: How diverse can the longevity profile of pension plans in Canada really be?

10 October 2020

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts 20-08: Life expectancy doesn’t tell the whole story

In this edition of Top Charts, Erik Pickett explains why there's more than meets the eye when it comes to life expectancy.

28 August 2020

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts 20-06: Impact of COVID-19 on Canadian mortality

In this issue of Top Charts, Richard Brown discusses the impact of COVID-19 on Canadian mortality.

1 June 2020

General interest | Top charts

Top Charts - 20-03: Canadian health inequality

Question: Is the length of time someone is expected to live in good health different for different socio-economic groups?

1 March 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