Mortality dynamics are characterized by changes in mortality regimes. This paper describes a Markov regime switching model which incorporates mortality state switches into mortality dynamics. Using the 1901-2005 US population mortality data, we illustrate that regime switching models perform...

This paper proposes a model for a defined benefit pension plan to minimize total funding variation while controlling expected total pension cost and funding downside risk throughout the life of a pension cohort. With this setup, we first investigate the plan's optimal contribution and asset...

Given the rising cost of maintaining defined benefit (DB) pensions, there has been a surge of activities in recent years by DB plan sponsors to transfer their pension risk through strategies such as buy-ins and buy-outs. As buy-in and buy-out transaction pipelines grow, insurers actively...

We provide a new method, the “MV CVaR approach”, for managing unexpected mortality changes underlying annuities and life insurance. The MV CVaR approach optimizes the mean-variance tradeoff of an insurer's mortality portfolio, subject to constraints on downside risk. We apply the method of...