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.This research summary explores the key findings of Club Vita Canada's inaugural study of Canadian pensioner longevity.
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.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.
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.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.
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.
