Douglas and Uli ask the ultimate question of human longevity for financial institutions: How long can we go?

If many people start achieving significantly longer lifespans, there could be far reaching effects both on society and on our financial institutions. How well is this risk of living longer really understood? People have a tendency to underestimate life expectancy, and actuaries have traditionally based future projections on historical trends. Has group think resulted in systematic blind spots in appreciating future longevity risk? Are we overlooking potential black swan events? And do we fully appreciate the differences between insured populations and the general population?

In recent years, some of the world’s top minds – and most bulging wallets – have turned their attention to various aspects of increasing both healthspan and lifespan. Snippets filter down to us through the scientific media, but the questions remain: what are the most likely avenues for progress and how close are we to significant breakthroughs in extending lives?

Douglas Anderson (Founder & Chief Visionary Officer of Club Vita), Uli Stengele (Chief Actuary of Nationwide Financial), Catherine Pickworth (Research Evaluation and Impact Manager of Cancer Research UK), and Xiao Gao (Epidemiologist of SCOR) explored session three of the series, cancer research where they unpacked these key questions: