Scottish Bankers' Mortality and Marriage Experience, 1903–1923

Synopsis of paper

Investigation into experience from 1903 to 1923 of five Scottish Banks' Widows' Funds; Bachelors, Married Men + Widowers, Wives and Widows, dealt with separately for mortality (total exposed to risk 99,354, 1305 deaths); Bachelors and Widowers separately for marriage experience (757 marriages).

Description pf methods of obtaining Exposed to Risk, etc., with special reference to exclusion of War period for younger male lives.

Males:—Low mortality at younger ages ; same improvement not maintained at older ages ; Bachelor mortality much higher than for Married Men at all ages. Females :—Exceptionally light mortality at younger ages ; improvement continued to some extent to oldest ages. Comparisons made with Hewat's 1893 experience.

Marriage:—Rates for Bachelors less than Hewat's at early ages, higher at principal marrying ages, and then again lower. Rates for Widowers much higher than for Bachelors. Difference between ages of husband and wife at marriage of Bachelors three years less than by Hewat.

Comparisons of Monetary Values—Whole Life Annuities and Annuities to Widows by first and second Marriages of Bachelors, etc.—with values by Hewat and Huie.

Valuation of Fund by new tables compared with valuation by Hewat and Huie ; reserves very similar for old-established Fund ; liabilities for young Bachelor entrants lighter.

Collective method, based on deaths in period. Liability in Valuation substantially lower than by Reversionary Annuity method; examination of difference, traced mainly to effects of War on marriage status. Discussion of the two methods, with references to Schjoll's alternative Collective method, based on living at end of period.

Tables at 3, 3½, and 4 per cent.; all tables given by Hewat and Huie relating to payments on marriage and to widows' annuities. Collective Method ; tables at 3½ per cent.