Some bad news for the UK, it appears that life expectancies have fallen when compared to 2014. The Institute and Faculty of Actuaries CMI Mortality Projections Model released last week was used for the comparison, and is used by the vast majority of UK pensions schemes when making assumptions about the life expectancy of their members.

The model shows that a male is expected to live, on average, four months less than the 2014 model predicted. United Kingdom pensions experts estimate that this will reduce the liabilities of the UK private sector pension schemes by approximately £15bn.   Public sector pension liabilities could decrease by an estimated £70bn, including state pensions.

HR experts feel that this information will have to be taken into consideration by trustees and employers, who will have the option of adopting the new projections when updating their figures. These new life expectancy figures could technically just be a “random variation” or they could potentially indicate a slowing of any improvements that have been seen over the last few years. Human resource professionals feel that trustees and employers may even have to wait for another major mass lifestyle change or more medical advances before any kind of life expectancy or longevity begins to accelerate.

This new model should serve as a reminder to employers and trustees that this is simply a guide and not written in stone. As with any model, it should be taken lightly and not as the be all and end all.