The gender longevity gap: actuarial and behavioral perspectives

Under economic and actuarial perspectives, longevity crucially aects de- mand for pensions, insurance products and annuities. Consistent empirical evidence shows that women have historically experienced lower mortality rates than men. For instance, [1] argued that, in Sweden, women have had, on average, a 3-year higher life expectancy at birth than men since 1750s. The discrepancy between female and male longevity experience is known as the gender longevity gap and is attributed to both biological and non- biological reasons (such as social roles, behaviour and lifestyle factors). [1] decomposed life expectancy by age- and cause-specic mortality to under- stand how the gender gap in life expectancy has evolved over time. Accord- ing to the literature, the gap between men's and women's life expectancies is narrowing. Assessing the magnitude and the speed of such evolution in the gender longevity gap has important economic implications, e.g., in the retirement income provision landscape. The core of our study is to analyse, through quantitative methods, the historical dynamics of the gender gap in women's and men's mortality rates. Such an analysis is crucial to set proper criteria and develop sound methods to model the future dynamics of the gender longevity gap. Indeed, a reliable measure of the expected gender gap in longevity can help governments and nancial institutions not only when designing reforms and innovative products but also when introducing such policies to potential customers, who may lack of longevity awareness.