Life & Longevity Markets Association

The LLMA has been established as a not-for-profit venture in order to promote a liquid traded market in longevity and mortality-related risk. 

The LLMA’s members are: AXA, Deutsche Bank, J.P. Morgan, Legal & General, Morgan Stanley, Pension Corporation, Prudential PLC, RBS, Swiss Re and UBS.

Longevity expectations continue to increase across the developed world. As they do, defined benefit pension funds, a primary holder of this risk, are having to recognise it in their actuarial valuations. This increases their liabilities and puts their finances under further pressure.

In order to offset this pressure and help secure member benefits, pension fund trustees have been able to pass longevity risk on to the insurance market through longevity swaps and bulk annuities. Whilst this capacity has managed the level of demand to-date, exposure to longevity risk by pension funds in the UK alone exceeds £2 trillion. Demand is therefore projected to increase significantly.

For certain institutional investors, longevity represents a potentially attractive investment opportunity primarily because it is not correlated to non-life, credit and market risks.

The LLMA seeks to break down the barriers to market growth by supporting the development of consistent standards, methodologies and benchmarks, by helping to build a liquid trading market, the LLMA will aid the expansion of capacity to meet demand, ultimately bringing added security to the benefits of pension fund members.