Actuaries have been active in the study of mortality since the earliest days of the profession and it remains an area where actuaries can contribute to the quality of public debate and lead in the development of new thinking.

An ageing population and increasing longevity are welcome evidence of social and health improvements in society but raise new issues that are of concern to all. This continues to be an area where the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) can act in the public interest by working with other disciplines, for example in the medical, social sciences and demographic fields. Combining the expertise of actuaries with that from other disciplines will substantially improve the understanding of mortality and morbidity risk.

Mortality Research Steering Committee (MRSC)

In 2006, the IFoA recognised that collaboration with other disciplines offered an opportunity to better understand past, present and future mortality trends by setting up a multi-disciplinary Mortality Research Steering Committee (MRSC). An initial scoping study was followed by a successful multidisciplinary conference on mortality and longevity in October 2009.

MRSC's six research priorities

The MRSC has established six research priorities that it is focusing its efforts on:

  1. Predicting future population mortality improvements
  2. Forecasting trends in morbidity
  3. Supporting the profession’s efforts to resolve the challenge of providing older age care
  4. Managing risk in products providing longevity protection
  5.  Tools and techniques for analysing portfolio experience
  6. Communication of complex risk behaviours in ways that are easy to understand

Find out more on the MRSC's research priorities.

Longevity Risk Framework

The risk management of longevity is still in its infancy. The MRSC has published an IFoA Longevity Risk Framework intended to address the creation of an industry standard definition of all the risks behaviours underlying longevity risk. 

Horizon scan

The MRSC is also in the process of carrying out a horizon scan to identify themes on which mortality, morbidity and longevity research activity should be initiated by the IFoA. We hope to publish our first output for this in the near future.

MRSC stakeholder event

In October 2019, the MRSC held a stakeholder event. This included discussion of the MRSC’s six priority areas as well as discussion of alternative priorities. A summary of the discussions is available on the stakeholder event page.

UK Mortality and Longevity Updates 

The MRSC also connects up with the International Actuarial Association’s Mortality Working Group.  On their website, you can read the latest UK Mortality and Longevity Update prepared for the IAA Mortality Working Group and other interested parties.

Events calendar

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