Mortality improvements by socio-economic circumstances, discussion paper

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This paper was presented at a sessional research meeting at Staple Inn Hall, London, on 24 September 2012.

A lack of regular, consistent and credible mortality data for people in different socio-economic circumstances (SEC) has hampered the study of historical mortality trends. This in turn has made forecasting a greater challenge.  To address some of these data issues, the authors (Joseph Lu, Wun Wong and Madhavi Bajekal) have obtained mortality and population data between 1981 and 2007 for England, divided into SEC quintiles. Using the data, they have analysed the mortality trends by SEC.  These findings can provide

• insight into mortality improvement for people in different SEC
• contribute to commercial decisions for annuity businesses, reinsurance and longevity swaps.