Steve Hood confesses to a growing interest in the field of longevity. He considers what we have learnt in 2009 and ponders what 2010 may bring.

The quarterly newsletter for Club Vita members

Extreme age has always been a cause for celebration and wonder

VitaMins is the quarterly newsletter for Club Vita members

Earlier this month saw Henry Allingham, Britain’s oldest man ever, celebrate his 113th birthday

La Dolce Vita (Italian for 'The Sweet Life') depicted a classic love story in 1950s Rome. In our age of remakes and recycling perhaps we should have it re-shot and renamed 'The Bitter-Sweet Life'?

Pensions actuaries have commonly relied on one of the CMI’s three cohort projections – short, medium or long – since they were first published as “interim adjustments” in 2002. Indeed one wonders how many actuaries have tried out all three in successive actuarial valuations, in the search of that ‘just right’ feeling.

1946 was a turning point for pensions, but how many in post-war Britain realised how significant a year it would be? In 1946, after six years of relative quiet, Britain’s maternity wards were suddenly filled once again.

In recent times the life expectancy assumption has come to dominate funding discussions between sponsors and trustees. But, how do trustees know when they have received good longevity advice? In this article Steven Baxter describes his four golden rules to consulting on longevity.

In 1952, the new Queen Elizabeth issued around 250 birthday telegrams. After 50 years on the throne, this had risen fifteenfold, to almost 4,000. The Queen was born in the ‘magic cohort’ year of 1926. If she survives to 2026, she can expect to be issuing 15,000 telegrams by then. Thank goodness that the world has gone digital. Pause for a few moments to consider what this means.

Having learnt from bitter experience, Financial Directors (FDs) have come to know that changes to longevity assumptions mean only one thing - higher disclosed pension liabilities. The ‘issue’, if one can call it that, of increasing life expectancy is now highly significant when it comes to financial statements for companies with final salary pension schemes.