Description: The topic of social and demographic changes has been included in the Emerging Issues Advisory Committee's screening because changes in demographics and social norms can directly impact products offered and how they are distributed by the life insurance industry. Also, changes in demographics can impact pricing and underwriting refinements within the industry. This article focuses on mortality from obesity and on mortality of the older population.

Description: Conventional wisdom in the U.S. is that mortality by violent causes of death is disproportionately experienced in underrepresented communities. This study aims to quantify this experience in more detail than is commonly reported.

Description: The Society of Actuaries’ Pension Section has completed a research effort exploring the value of longevity pooling and its implications.

Description: This report discusses drivers of U.S. mortality improvement for the short and long term.

Description: This article is a follow up to an article in the February, 1977 issue of the actuary, which was a discussion of the article, Sex and the Single Table. This article is a reply by Barbara J. Lautzenheiser, FSA, author of Sex and the Single Table, to a comment her original article generated. This current article again provides an excellent explanation of actuarial risk classification practices, and of the legal and social issues used to argue against risk classification, noting that if society does favor policy that overrides risk classification based on gender, such as promoting unisex tables for determining pension payments, then the implications should be understood.

Description: Article discusses the how the older population has been treated throughout history with low regard and often as a burden on society.

Description: Orlando Business Journal three-part series on living longer and the aging work force, including experts from the Living to 100 Symposium.

Description: Suicide is one of the ten leading causes of death in the United States and the only one of those causes that is trending in the wrong direction over the last 15 years. This article examines several aspects of suicide in the United States with a focus on its impact on the insurance industry. The findings were compiled from publicly available data through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, from internal RGA data, and also from interviews with topic experts. The article highlights the difference in suicide rates between the general population and the insured population, the proportion of claims from suicide, the spike in suicide rates at the end of the contestability (or exemption period), and current thoughts from counseling experts on prevention. It also demonstrates an increase in suicide rates during times of economic turmoil.

Description: overview of changes in retirement plans and economic demands for the baby boom generation

Description: Retirees and their advisors should construct diversified portfolios of retirement income, allocating among various retirement income classes that include Social Security, annuities, and systematic withdrawals from invested assets. This essay discusses the pros and cons of various retirement income generators and the issues with constructing retirement income portfolios.