Recently Published Research

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Publications

Complex Assets in Insurance and Annuity Industries
February
Explore how life and annuity insurers use CLOs, ABS, and MBS to boost yield, and learn the key liquidity, valuation, and cash-flow risks to manage.

International Reinsurance Landscape Overview for U.S. Life & Annuities
February
This is your go-to guide for what’s driving the surge in “offshore” life & annuity reinsurance, with a side-by-side look at key jurisdictions (from Bermuda and Cayman to Ireland, Singapore, Puerto Rico, and more) and the reserving/capital frameworks behind them.

2024-2025 Registered Index-Linked Annuity Contract Holder Behavior Experience Study - Data Request
January
Help shape the first comprehensive 2024–2025 RILA contract-holder behavior study. Insurers can contribute data on surrenders, withdrawals, GLWB use, annuitization, and deposits by June 30, 2026.

Quarterly Global Warming Report
January
Quarterly statistical update on global warming trends using ERA5 air and sea surface temperature data, with trend estimates and confidence intervals.

Group Life COVID-19 Mortality Survey Report Series
January
The SOA Research Institute announces the Group Life COVID-19 Mortality Survey Report Series, which gathers a high-level view of U.S. group term life insurance mortality experience since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic as compared to a pre-pandemic baseline period. These reports will measure results in total and by broad age group, industry category, geographic region, and cause of death.

Older Age Mortality Expert Panel Discussion Series – Cardiovascular Mortality Panel Report
January
Cardiovascular disease is still the leading cause of death at older ages—about 35% of all deaths—and the story is evolving fast. The SOA Research Institute’s latest expert panel discussion explores how genetics + lifestyle + environment + access to care interact, how COVID-19 disrupted cardiovascular outcomes, and what’s ahead (AI-enabled diagnostics, advanced lipids like Lp(a), new therapies, and wearables reshaping prevention and underwriting).

Quarterly Mortality Monitoring Report
January
The Quarterly Mortality Monitoring Report has been updated to include data through September 2025. The report is accompanied by an Excel workbook with interactive graphs for visualizing trends in the mortality data.

Mortality by Socioeconomic Category – Age Standardized Death Rates
January
New data downloads: Explore age-standardized (age-adjusted) death rates by socioeconomic category through 2023, built for clean comparisons across groups. Available as a full-population file plus focused sheets for 0–19, 20–44, 45–64, 65–84, and 85+.

Washington State Floods – December 2025
January
This report analyzes the December 2025 Washington State floods, showing how intense atmospheric river–driven rainfall caused severe flooding along the Skagit River, while also placing the event in a longer-term historical and climate-change context.

Actuarial Mindsets for Leading in the AI Era: An Expert Panel Discussion
January
A quick, practical roadmap for actuaries who want to lead (not just “use tools”) as AI becomes a routine part of the workflow, featuring insights from experts across academia, insurance, reinsurance, brokerage, and risk consulting. It highlights the enduring mindsets that matter most: curiosity, disciplined thinking, clear problem framing, and integrating AI responsibly without losing sight of core professional obligations.

Actuarial Intelligence Bulletin
January
This bulletin serves as a platform for sharing knowledge and fostering collaboration around artificial intelligence within the actuarial community. Explore articles on strategic initiatives, practical tips, and research advancements, all aimed at empowering actuaries to leverage AI responsibly and effectively.

2026 SOA Research Institute Student Research Case Study Challenge
January
The Research Institute has announced key dates for the 2026 Student Research Case Study Challenge.

Getzen Model of Long-Run Medical Cost Trends-Update for 2026-2036
December
The Getzen Model is a long-term medical cost trend projection model based on 30+ years of observation.

A Multifaceted Analysis of Dynamic Pension Plan Designs
December
This paper examines the roles of various designs of decumulation-only CDC plans, referred to as Dynamic Pension (DP) plans, in providing sustainable retirement income for retirees. A critical focus of this paper is the exploration of optimal investment strategies under the Type 3 benefit adjustment mechanism. Additionally, the paper explores crucial design elements for DP plans.

Model Risk Management for Pension Funds Investment Practitioners
December
This report examines the impact of ESG model selection and parameter uncertainty on pension fund outcomes based on resources developed by the Society of Actuaries and other organizations and researchers and illustrates selected risks using simulation-based modeling of the assets of a simple pension fund.

Regulatory Capital Adequacy for Life Insurance Companies – 2025 update
December
A 2025 update comparing regulatory capital standards for life insurers in the U.S., Canada, the EU, and Bermuda, examining solvency frameworks and key developments across jurisdictions.

2009-2023 Term Conversion Experience Study
December
The Society of Actuaries (SOA) Research Institute and LIMRA have jointly conducted a study of 2009-2023 Term Conversion Incidence, Mortality, and Lapse and Post-Conversion Mortality and Lapse Experience. It is an update to the Report on the Conversion Experience Study for the Level Premium Term Plans previously completed in 2016 and covering experience for calendar years 2000-2014. Seventeen companies contributed data to the current study. This study of 2009-2023 calendar years contains 63.6 million in policies exposed, $31.4 trillion in face amount exposed, and over 600,000 conversions of term policies and 6.2 million in policies exposed and $955.8 billion in face amount exposed of converted permanent policies.

2022-2024 Variable Annuity Guaranteed Living Benefit Utilization Study
December
The Society of Actuaries (SOA) Research Institute’s Individual Annuity Experience Committee (IAEC) and LIMRA have jointly conducted a study of Variable Annuity (VA) and Registered Index-Linked Annuity (RILA) Behavior covering contracts having contract anniversaries in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Seventeen companies contributed data to the current study, encompassing approximately 48% of new premium for VAs and RILAs and 39% of general and separate account reserves associated with VAs and RILAs during the period of the study. The current study of 2022-2024 observation years contains about 11.5 million contract count exposed, $1.5 trillion in contract value exposed, and over 625,000 surrenders. It also contains data on four million contract withdrawals and $56.7 billion in contract value withdrawn.

2023-24 Fixed Rate Deferred Surrender Study
December
The Society of Actuaries (SOA) Research Institute’s Individual Annuity Experience Committee (IAEC) and LIMRA have jointly conducted a study of fixed-rate deferred annuity surrender experience covering calendar years 2023 and 2024. This is an update to the prior study covering calendar years 2015-2022. Twenty-four individual companies contributed data to the current study, encompassing approximately 65% of industry new sales by premium. The current study contains about 4.8 million surrender exposure by contract count, $612 billion surrender exposure by contract value, and over 567,000 surrenders.

2023 Fixed Indexed Annuity Contract Owner Behavior Experience Study
December
The Society of Actuaries (SOA) Research Institute’s Individual Annuity Experience Committee (IAEC) and LIMRA have jointly conducted a study of Fixed Indexed Annuity (FIA) contract owner behavior covering observation year 2023. Seventeen individual companies contributed data to the current study, encompassing 57% of industry new sales and 58% of industry assets in force during the period of the study. The current study contains about 2.7 million surrender exposure by contract count, $328 billion surrender exposure by contract value, over 208,000 surrenders, and $13.0 billion in contract withdrawals. The experience data analyzed for this study includes both single- and flexible-premium products, and contracts are included regardless of whether or not they have a guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefit (GLWB) rider or other type of guaranteed living benefit.

Quantifying the Effects of Mental Health on U.S. Suicide and Mortality Rate
December
This study shows that mental health and socio-economic conditions are strongly linked to suicide and overall mortality across U.S. counties, with clear regional patterns that persist over time. Incorporating mental health data into mortality models can improve risk assessment and forecasting for actuarial work.

The Impact of Wildfire-Related and Environmental Air Pollution on Mortality
December
Explores how wildfire-related air pollution impacts mortality using machine learning and multi-year health data.

2013-2021 Group Life Experience Study- Simplified Chinese
December
A newly published Simplified Chinese summary of the most up-to-date study of group life experience.

Predictive Analytics in Life and Annuity Reinsurance – Simplified Chinese
December
A newly published Simplified Chinese summary examines the adoption and challenges of predictive analytics in life and annuity reinsurance, including current practices, regulatory context, and advanced AI applications.

Climate Anomalies’ Enduring Impacts on U.S. Mortality and Health Landscape
December 2025
This report establishes a U.S.-focused framework to quantify how El Niño–Southern Oscillation anomalies affect public health, using cause-specific mortality to measure short- and long-term effects, attribute changes in life expectancy, value welfare losses, and project future burdens under alternative climate scenarios.

Podcasts

Research Insights

Explore research reports and studies, innovative research projects and collaborate efforts with other organizations and the SOA Research Institute. For access to all episodes, visit the Research Insights page. 

Get Plugged In

Stay tuned for expert interviews, thought-provoking discussions, and practical advice to help you navigate the evolving landscape of Artificial Intelligence and its implications for actuaries under our AI Insights Series.

Listen to InsurTech start-up leaders share knowledge on evolving technology and insurance. For access to all episodes, visit the Get Plugged In page. 

Videos and Webcasts

Exploring the Arithmeter and its History
October 2024
Step back in time with the Arithmeter! See how calculations were done 150 years ago and imagine the future of actuarial science.

Modeling and Forecasting Premature Cardiovascular Mortality
October 2024
This video highlights findings on premature cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, focusing on education level and obesity status. In the U.S., there has been a slowing in improvement in CVD mortality rates. Ronora Stryker, ASA, MAAA, from the SOA Research Institute discusses CVD mortality trends.

SOA Research Institute Visits Officials in Washington D.C.
October 2024
In a summary video, R. Dale Hall, FSA, MAAA, CERA, managing director of research, SOA Research Institute, discusses meetings he and others had with legislators on Capitol Hill and key federal agencies about AI and other topics.

Reimagining Pharmacy Financing
June 2024
Watch a 5-minute video highlighting key findings and graphs from the report, which examines an alternative to policy solutions to tackle increasing medication cost via a value-based reimbursement mode.

Unhealthy Longevity in the United States
January 2024
Watch the video to better understand differences in mortality for people in good and poor health.

Questions or Comments?

If you have comments or questions, please send an email to research@soa.org.