Age ratingA crude way of tailoring a mortality table to fit the characteristics of a particular population. AgeingThe process of deterioration of the physical condition of a living organism that ultimately leads to death. AnnuityA financial instrument offered by an insurance company that resembles a pension Baby boomersA Baby Boomer is a person born between 1945 and 1965. Base tableA set of age-specific rates of assumed mortality. Biological ageBiological age differs from chronological age in that it takes account of the effect of genetic and environmental factors on an individual’s lifespan. Biological limit on lifeAn ageing theory which postulates that humans (along with other species) have a natural limit to their lifespans that cannot be exceeded. Birth cohortA birth cohort is a group of people from a given population which is defined by the time of their birth. Causes of deathIn many countries, deaths are certified by doctors and certification data is collected. Chronological ageChronological age is age measured as time elapsed since the date of birth. CMI – Continuous Mortality InvestigationA research project organised by the UK actuarial profession that collates mortality and morbidity data from
UK insurers (and, latterly, from UK pension schemes) and produces mortality tables. CovariateA covariate is a potential differentiating factor that might explain some of the variation in mortality rates. Expectation of lifeThe length of time (generally measured in years) that an individual can expect to live. Exposed-to-riskTthe number of individuals within a specified population who are ‘at risk’ of a specified event occurring to them or in relation to them. GeriatricGeriatric medicine refers to the clinical, preventive and social aspects of illness in older people. 'Golden Cohort' effectA number of UK mortality studies have shown that the birth cohort of pensioners born around 1926 is, on average, living longer than those born earlier or later. GraduationThe mathematical process of ironing out bumps in observed mortality rates at individual ages to produce smoothed mortality or survival curves. Healthy life expectancyAn individual’s healthy life expectancy is the expected number of years of life in good, or fairly good, health. HeterogeneousA term commonly used in statistics, meaning ’containing diverse and different items’, or ‘displaying different characteristics’. HomogeneousHomogeneous means ’containing identical items’, or ‘displaying identical characteristics.’ Lee-CarterThe Lee-Carter model is a mathematical model for projecting historic trends in mortality improvements into the future. Library of projectionsIn 2007 the CMI, on behalf of the UK Actuarial Profession, published a ‘library’ of mortality projections. LongevityLongevity is often used to refer to long (or longer than expected) life. Longevity swapsA new and developing class of special financial instruments enabling two parties to exchange payments depending upon the mortality rates of a particular population. Minimum improvementsMany projections for future improvements (i.e. reductions) in mortality rates (or increases in longevity) assume that these reductions will tend rather rapidly to zero. MorbidityMorbidity refers to the state of being sick or disabled, and to the incidence or prevalence of sickness or disability. MortalityMortality is the susceptibility to death (‘mortal’). Mortality tableA set of mortality rates by age – usually spanning ages 0 to 120. Multi-variate statisticsA branch of mathematical statistics that helps to identify the strength of relationships and interdependencies in bodies of data that include many covariates. ONS longitudinal studyThe Office for National Statistics (ONS) longitudinal study started in 1971 as a means of understanding trends within the England & Wales population. Population pyramidA popular type of chart used to depict the age and gender structure of a population. P-splineP-splines are a mathematical tool which is increasingly being used to analyse and extrapolate trends in historic mortality. Scaling factorA crude way of tailoring a base table to allow for the characteristics of a particular population, by multiplying the mortality rates by a scaling factor. Select tableA particular form of mortality table that is used for sub-populations that have been selected in some way. SenescenceThe scientific name for ageing and relates to the biological processes which take place in individuals at older ages. Short, medium and long cohortThree different cohort projections have been produced by the CMI, each projecting the future of the ‘golden cohort’ differently. Socio-economic groupThe Office for National Statistics (ONS) defines socio-economic groups as groups ‘derived from occupation, employment status and size of establishment’. Survival curveA statistical graph of the survival experience or expectation of a population, showing the proportion surviving (or expected to survive) by age, or over time.
TontineA tontine is an early form of investment vehicle that combines features of a group annuity, group life assurance and lottery. |