Spotlight on Longevity: Mortality improvements – does one size fit all?

The CMI Model is calibrated to data for the general population but is typically applied to pensioner or annuitant portfolios. These have different mortality rates and may experience quite different mortality improvements.

Over the past few years there have been a number of analyses, including our February 2014 Spotlight, of how mortality improvements have varied for different sub-groups. These analyses, which have considered different sub-groups, have not produced entirely consistent results.

In this Spotlight, we add to the debate by analysing recent mortality data split by the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD). This dataset is of particular interest as it includes the period since 2011, which has had unexpectedly low mortality improvements in the general population. We find that mortality improvements have been highest in the least deprived areas.