News and insights
All the latest information, news and research from the Club Vita Canada team
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Mega trend 10: The democratization of longevity
AUTHORED BY SHANTEL ARIS, September 21, 2021
Life expectancy across the world has seen a dramatic increase since the 18th century. The emergence of preventative medicine and vaccines that minimized infant mortality, the agricultural and trade revolution, and the development of sanitation have all greatly contributed to the increase. This evolution of life expectancy had greater preponderance in developed countries.
Read more ...20210914
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Mega trend 9: 30 really is the new 20 (for some people – determining who they are will become crucial for pension plans and insurers)
AUTHORED BY NIKIYA MARILLA, September 14, 2021
Should lifespan be determined by how many times you’ve circled the sun? Should we determine our age based on a linear equation of current year subtracted by year of birth? What if there was a way to determine age differently; a measurement that would be better at determining longevity and/or mortality? How could measuring age differently impact mortality assumptions for Pension Plans or even insurers?
Read more ...20210914
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VitaMins Health mRNA technology – a silver spike-protein lining?
September 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused much devastation and disruption. But in the aftermath, are we now seeing a silver lining emerging in the form of mRNA technology?
Read more ...20210912
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Mega Trend 8: Big data grows up – from open banking, to open insurance, to open health
AUTHORED BY SAEED AHMADI, August 20, 2021
I can still remember the time when “floppy disks” with maximum capacity of 2.8 mega bites (MB) were popular: a term that some of you probably haven’t even heard of! Back in the 1970s, storage devices were not as advanced as they are today, and people relied on simple storage devices with limited capacity. Those times are now in the history books and as more data becomes available, more advanced storage devices (e.g., compact disks, DVDs, USB drives) have been introduced. Currently flash drives are available with 4TB capacity i.e., 4x106 MB.
Read more ...20210819
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Mega trend 7: wearable tech drives life expectancy increases
AUTHORED BY CONOR O’REILY, August 3, 2021
In our seventh mega trend blog, our UK colleague Conor O’Reilly explores how advances in wearable technology could lead to further increases in life expectancy in the future.
Read more ...20210803
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Mega trend 6: healthy life expectancy will increase at a quicker pace than life expectancy
AUTHORED BY FRANCE PANNETON, July 2021
Before the pandemic put an end to group activities, the last part of my spinning class would consist of a series of stretches. Whenever the trainer would begin this section, I would pause and remember the wise advice of my physiotherapist “choose quality over quantity” and I would opt to do my own series of a smaller number of longer duration (higher quality) stretches.
Read more ...20210708
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Mega trend 5: Longevity risk will (is already) moving back to institutions from individuals
AUTHORED BY JENNIFER HAID, July 2021
For as long as I’ve been working in the retirement space, headline attention has been focused on the move from defined benefit pension plans to defined contribution style arrangements and on the clawbacks applied to social security systems – along with personal savings, these are the three legs of the traditional retirement savings stool. This move creates greater choice and flexibility for the individual, while at the same time increases their responsibilities for managing future financial risks.
Read more ...20210705
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Mega trend 4: pension funds and insurers include longevity impact in climate risk management
AUTHORED BY MARK SHARKEY, June 2021
Does it take the experience of living through a 1 in 100-year pandemic to give us a true understanding of how systemic risks impact the world we live in?
Read more ...20210622
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VitaMins Health COVID-19 and cancer – prevention on pause?
AUTHORED BY ALON HALBRICH, June 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has upended lives in many ways over the last 15 months (and counting!). As of June 15, 2021 there have been 176 million confirmed cases and 3.8 million deaths worldwide. The crisis has led to significant changes at hospitals, both for services offered and for patients’ willingness to visit. One area of particular importance is the reduction in the number of cancer screenings.
Read more ...20210621
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Mega Trend 3: Pension plans start treating longevity as a risk to manage rather than an assumption to get ‘right’
AUTHORED BY ERIK PICKETT, June 11, 2021
Read our third mega trend blog where Erik Pickett discusses the relationship between pension plans, longevity and risk.
Read more ...20210611
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Mega Trend 2: Longevity Becomes a Tradeable Commodity
AUTHORED BY NICK CHADWICK, June 1, 2021
I am sure that like me, many of you are looking forward to the delayed Euro 2020 football championships – that’s soccer for our American friends – which take place across Europe this June and July.
Read more ...20210601
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Mega Trend 1: UK longevity inequality will grow
AUTHORED BY DOUGLAS ANDERSON, May 24, 2021
Read our first mega trend blog where Douglas Anderson discusses UK longevity inequality.
Read more ...20210524
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COVID-19: Latest picture as of May 21, 2021 and how does Canada compare to the UK and the US ?
AUTHORED BY SHANTEL ARIS & FRANCE PANNETON, May 21, 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a devastating impact on mortality worldwide, making it an important research area for the Club Vita team. In this article we compare the current picture of the pandemic in Canada to the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US). We explore this in the context of the waves of the virus, the impact of vaccinations and the unknowns that could change the current outlook.
Read more ...20210521
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VitaMins Health Long COVID – in it for the long haul?
March 2021
In 2020 we witnessed many evolving and changing concepts relating to COVID-19, one of which is the long-term suffering of symptoms of the disease known as post-COVID-19 syndrome, Long COVID or Long Haul COVID.
Read more ...20210322
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COVID-19’s impact on Canadian mortality: the latest picture as of February 16th, 2021
AUTHORED BY SHANTEL ARIS & RICHARD BROWN, February 16, 2021
With the first month of 2021 well behind us and Statistics Canada releasing updated data last week regarding Canadian deaths during 2020, we wanted to provide an update on the impact the pandemic has had on Canadian mortality.
Read more ...20210216
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VitaMins Health: Physical activity – are you sitting comfortably?
December 2020
Sedentary lifestyles are on the rise. More and more people are sitting down on the commute, sitting down at work and sitting down for leisure.
Read more ...20201209
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Latest picture of COVID-19’s impact on Canadian mortality in 2020
AUTHORED BY RICHARD BROWN, December 4, 2020
As new cases of COVID-19 continue to climb across much of Canada, we wanted to share an update regarding the latest picture of the pandemic’s impact on Canadian mortality during 2020
Read more ...20201123
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VitaMins: Representativeness of data
October 2020
With most of the world still in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic, much attention is now focused on the development of a safe and effective vaccine. Never in our memories have clinical trials received so many column inches and the subject of representativeness of sample data is top of many minds.
Read more ...20201007
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Introducing Club Vita Canada’s longevity map
July 2020
In 2020, we are more conscious than ever of our health. Wearing masks, keeping our distance and washing hands non-stop have become a part of our daily lives in a way that would have been inconceivable just months ago
Read more ...20200707
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VitaMins Health: Mental health – looking after body and mind
June 2020
It is widely accepted that the mind and body are closely interlinked. In this article we look at the link between mental and physical health patterns and how these may influence future longevity trends.
Read more ...20200618
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Has COVID-19 increased Canadian mortality?
AUTHORED BY RICHARD BROWN, May 8, 2020
Over the past two weeks Club Vita UK has put out a number of blogs detailing the devastating impact COVID-19 has had in the United Kingdom, resulting in a significant increase in UK deaths at an overall population level. The fact that detailed data regarding all UK deaths is available weekly (i.e., not just those due to COVID-19) has allowed a much better understanding of the severity of the pandemic in the UK, including the identification of COVID-19 deaths not captured in the official numbers.
Read more ...20200508
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VitaMins Health: Vitamin D– The “sunshine” vitamin
March 2020
Dietary sources of Vitamin D are limited, with around 90% of our usual intake coming from sunlight. Does our current lifestyle and diet through the winter months provide us with sufficient resources for a long and heathy life?
Read more ...20200303
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VitaMins Health: Getting clued-up on the flu
October 2019
Every year significantly more people die during the winter months than at other times of the year, and we have recently seen huge variability in ‘excess winter deaths’, potentially impacted by the severity of the flu.
Read more ...20191001
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Are Canadians continuing to live longer?
AUTHORED BY EUAN REID & RICHARD BROWN, July 26,2019
In May 2019, Statistics Canada reported that “Life expectancy stops increasing in Canada”, since, for the first time in more than forty years, Canadian life expectancy at birth (for both men and women) did not increase from 2016 to 2017. The Statistics Canada report stated that this trend change was “largely attributable to the opioid crisis”, especially “among Canadian men aged 20 to 44 years.” Despite this concerning development, life expectancy for Canadians aged 65 did continue to increase. Read more ...
20190626
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‘Til death do us part: does the 3-year rule always hold true?
AUTHORED BY ALON HALBRICH, May 22, 2019
For many members in defined benefit pension plans, monthly benefits are not only paid for as long as the retirees live, but also then paid to surviving spouses for as long as they live. Read more ...
20190522
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Feeling the heat?
AUTHORED BY EUAN REID, October 22, 2018
Last year, when I told my British friends and colleagues I was moving to Canada, the most common reaction (aside from “good riddance”) was “it’s cold there, isn’t it?”. They might have been shocked to learn of the very unfortunate reports that there were up to 70 deaths caused by the July heatwave in Quebec this year. Read more ...
20181022
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Quality of life: impacts on future longevity?
AUTHORED BY JENNIFER URQUHART, August 25, 2018
We often look at significant medical advances that extend life as likely contributors to further improvements in longevity. But, could additional improvements in both health and life expectancy also be gained through advances that enhance the quality of life for the elderly? Read more ...
20180825
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Why hedging logevity risk may be right for your plan (Benefits and Pensions Monitor, Dec 13, 2017)
Whether it's converting to defined contribution (DC) plans, evolving investment strategies, developing glide-paths or annuitizing inactive members, risk mitigation has become ingrained in the Canadian DB pension industry. But despite this evolution, there is one risk that hasn't yet received its fair share of attention: longevity risk.
Reprinted with permission from Benefits and Pensions Monitor.
20171213
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Key findings from Club Vita Canada's first annual study of defined benefit pensioner logevity
This research summary explores the key findings of Club Vita Canada's inaugural study of Canadian pensioner longevity.
20170601
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Increasing Lifespans: A Pension Plan’s True Longevity Risk (The Observer, 2017 Issue 1)
Increasing longevity is good news for the global population – but it’s a significant risk for pension plan sponsors, since how long people will live after retirement is a key determinant of a plan’s cost.
Reprinted with permission from the ACPM.
20170101
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How would a universal cancer vaccine affect Canadian pension plans? (June 2016)
The science journal Nature recently published a paper regarding the positive progress of scientists working on a universal cancer vaccine. If such a vaccine were ever created, it would obviously have immense implications—not the least of which is longer, healthier lives for Canadians.
20160601
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A Deeper Look at Longevity Risk (The Observer, 2016 Spring)
The average Canadian life span has increased dramatically over the past century. In fact, men in B.C. now enjoy a life expectancy in line with that of the longest lived OECD countries. Slowly but surely, the number of years Canadians spend in retirement and the number of years they spend at work have begun to equalize. But a longer retirement comes at a higher cost for defined benefit (DB) plan sponsors – and the heightened risk of individuals in defined contribution plans outliving their retirement savings. This means longevity risk should be understood, measured and managed better by pension plan sponsors.
Reprinted with permission from the ACPM.
20160401
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Where Canadians live may have a significant impact on how long they'll live (March 2016)
There’s an old actuarial joke in which someone finds himself treading water in the middle of a 10-foot-deep lake, after being told by an actuary that the lake was five feet deep on average. Averages can help you test the waters. But a proper understanding of your environment often requires a deeper dive.
20160301
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Do policies that encourage later retirement impact some workers more than others? (Feb 2016)
Rising life expectancies have led policymakers to prompt people to work more years, to better fund longer retirements. In particular, the normal retirement age for both Old Age Security in Canada and U.S. Social Security will gradually increase from 65 to 67 in the coming years. The U.K. has announced similar plans, and intends additional increases based on future improvements in life expectancy.
20160201