In this article from The Actuary, Principal, Michael Harrison, discusses findings from a Mercer survey which analyses assumptions used by universities to calculate their pension scheme deficits and costs. He commented:

You would expect to see some variety in the assumptions as life expectancy varies across the country… However, a lot of difference is due to different mixes of socio-economic groups, so a seven year gap between the shortest and longest life expectancy for employees working in similar roles in the same sector is a bit higher than we'd expect.

View full article: University pension schemes face £1.1bn deficit. Published by The Actuary, 12 July 2012.  View more of Mercer's recent news coverage