improvement will continue in the future, but the degree of future mortality improvement is uncertain. Two mortality improvement scales were recently published by the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) and may apply to Canadian pension valuations:

• The Canadian Pensioners Mortality (CPM) study published in February 2014 included CPM Improvement Scale B (CPM-B).

• A report released by the Task Force on Mortality Improvement on September 20, 2017 includes an analysis of the rate of mortality improvement for the Canadian population and provides for mortality improvement scale MI-2017 to be considered for the purpose of reflecting future mortality improvement in Canadian actuarial work, while acknowledging that it might be appropriate to use alternative mortality improvement assumptions to reflect the nature of the work.

The CIA Committee on Pension Plan Financial Reporting published a revised version of the Educational Note on the Selection of Mortality Assumptions for Pension Plan Valuations on December 21, 2017. The Educational Note indicates that given the recent publication of the CPM-B and MI-2017 improvement scales and the similar data sets used in their development, it may be appropriate to use either scale in the absence of credible information to the contrary, such as the publication of a successor scale by the CIA.

Disability Rates

Use of a different assumption would not have a material impact on the valuation.

Eligible Spouse

The assumption is based on an industry standard for non-retired members (actual status used for retirees).

Spousal Age Difference

The assumption is based on an industry standard showing males are typically 3 years older than their spouse.