29 C.F.R. § 4044.53

Current through August 31, 2024

Section 4044.53 - Mortality assumptions

(a)General rule. Subject to paragraph (b) of this section (regarding certain death benefits), the plan administrator shall use the mortality factors prescribed in paragraphs (c), (d), (e), (f), and (g) of this section to value benefits under § 4044.52 .

(b)Certain death benefits. If an annuity for one person is in pay status on the valuation date, and if the payment of a death benefit after the valuation date to another person, who need not be identifiable on the valuation date, depends in whole or in part on the death of the pay status annuitant, then the plan administrator shall value the death benefit using-

(1) The mortality rates that are applicable to the annuity in pay status under this section to represent the mortality of the pay status annuitant; and

(2) The mortality rates under paragraph (c) of this section to represent the mortality of the death beneficiary.

(c)Healthy lives -

(1)In general. If the individual is not disabled under paragraph (f) of this section, the plan administrator must value the benefit using generational mortality tables described in this paragraph (c).

(i)Construction of generational mortality tables. The generational mortality tables in this paragraph (c) are constructed from the base mortality tables described in paragraph (c)(1)(ii) of this section and the mortality improvement rates described in paragraph (c)(1)(iii) of this section.

(ii)Base mortality tables. The base mortality tables are set forth in paragraph (c)(5) of this section. The base year for those tables is 2012.

(iii)Mortality improvement rates. The mortality improvement rates are the Scale MP-2021 Rates described in the Mortality Improvement Scale MP-2021 Report.

(iv)Incorporation by reference. The Mortality Improvement Scale MP-2021 Report, October 2021 is incorporated by reference into this section with the approval of the Director of the Federal Register under 5 U.S.C. 552(a) and 1 CFR part 51 . This incorporation by reference (IBR) material is available for inspection at PBGC and at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). Contact PBGC at: Disclosure Division, Office of the General Counsel, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation; 445 12th Street SW, Washington, DC 20024; 202-326-4040. For information on the availability of this material at NARA, visit www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/ibr-locations.html or email fr.inspection@nara.gov. The material may be obtained from the Society of Actuaries at: Society of Actuaries, 475 N. Martingale Rd., Suite 600, Schaumburg, IL 60173; (847) 706-3500; https://www.soa.org/resources/experience-studies/2021/mortality-improvement-scale-mp-2021.

(2)Application of mortality improvement rates -

(i)In general. Under the generational mortality tables described in this paragraph (c), the probability of an individual's death at a particular age in the future is determined as the individual's base mortality rate that applies at that age (that is, the applicable mortality rate from the tables set forth in paragraph (c)(5) of this section for that age, gender, and status as an annuitant or a non-annuitant) multiplied by the cumulative mortality improvement factor for the individual's gender and for that age for the period from 2012 through the calendar year in which the individual is projected to reach the particular age. Paragraph (c)(3) of this section provides an example that illustrates how the base mortality tables in paragraph (c)(5) of this section and the Scale MP-2021 mortality improvement rates are combined to determine projected mortality rates.

(ii)Cumulative mortality improvement factor. The cumulative mortality improvement factor for an age and gender for a period is the product of the annual mortality improvement factors for that age and gender for each year within that period.

(iii)Annual mortality improvement factor. The annual mortality improvement factor for an age and gender for a year is 1 minus the mortality improvement rate that applies for that age and gender for that year. If that annual mortality improvement rate is greater than 1 (corresponding to a negative mortality improvement rate), then the projected mortality rate for that age and gender for that year is greater than the projected mortality rate for the same age and gender for the preceding year.

(3)Example of calculation using scale MP-2021 rates -

(i)Calculation of mortality rate. The mortality rate that is applied to male annuitants who are age 67 in 2024 is equal to the product of the mortality rate for 2012 that applied to male annuitants who were age 67 in 2012 (0.01288) and the cumulative mortality improvement factor for age 67 males from 2012 to 2024. The cumulative mortality improvement factor for age 67 males for the period from 2012 to 2024 is 0.9867, and the mortality rate for 2024 for male annuitants who are age 67 in that year would be 0.01271, as shown in the following table.

Table 1 to Paragraph ( c )(3)( i )-Example Mortality Rate Calculation

Calendar year	Scale MP-2021 mortality improvement rate	Annual mortality improvement factor (1-mortality improvement rate)	Cumulative mortality improvement factor	Mortality rate
2012	n/a	n/a	n/a	0.01288
2013	0.0052	0.9948	0.9948
2014	0.0027	0.9973	0.9921
2015	0.0009	0.9991	0.9912
2016	(0.0003)	1.0003	0.9915
2017	(0.0010)	1.0010	0.9925
2018	(0.0016)	1.0016	0.9941
2019	(0.0016)	1.0016	0.9957
2020	(0.0010)	1.0010	0.9967
2021	0.0000	1.0000	0.9967
2022	0.0015	0.9985	0.9952
2023	0.0033	0.9967	0.9919
2024	0.0052	0.9948	0.9867	0.01271

(ii)Probability of survival for an individual. After the projected mortality rates are derived for each age for each year, the rates are used to calculate the present value of a benefit stream that depends on the probability of survival year-by-year. For example, using the Scale MP-2021 rates, for purposes of calculating the present value of future payments in a benefit stream payable for a male annuitant who is age 67 in 2024, the probability of survival for the annuitant is based on the mortality rate for a male annuitant who is age 67 in 2024 (0.01271), and the projected mortality rate for a male annuitant who will be age 68 in 2025 (0.01369), age 69 in 2026 (0.01478), and so on.

(4)Use of the tables -

(i)Separate tables for annuitants and non-annuitants. Separate mortality tables are provided for use for annuitants and non-annuitants. The non-annuitant mortality tables are applied to determine the probability of survival for a non-annuitant for the period before the non-annuitant is projected to commence receiving benefits. The annuitant mortality tables are applied to determine the present value of benefits for each annuitant. In addition, the annuitant mortality tables are applied for each non-annuitant with respect to each assumed commencement of benefits for the period beginning with that assumed commencement. For purposes of this section, an annuitant means a plan participant who has commenced receiving benefits, and a non-annuitant means a plan participant who has not yet commenced receiving benefits (for example, an active employee or a terminated vested participant). A participant whose benefit has partially commenced is treated as an annuitant for the portion of the benefit that has commenced and treated as a non-annuitant for the balance of the benefit. In addition, for a beneficiary of a participant, the annuitant mortality tables apply for the period beginning with each assumed commencement of benefits for the participant. If the participant has died (or to the extent the participant is assumed to die before commencing benefits), the annuitant mortality tables apply with respect to the beneficiary for the period beginning with each assumed commencement of benefits for the beneficiary.

(ii)Examples of calculation using separate non-annuitant and annuitant tables. For a 45-year-old active participant who is projected to commence receiving an annuity at age 55, benefit liabilities are determined using the non-annuitant mortality tables for the period before the participant attains age 55 and using the annuitant mortality tables for the period ages 55 and above. Similarly, for a 45-year-old terminated vested participant who is projected to commence an annuity at age 65, benefit liabilities are determined using the non-annuitant mortality tables for the period before the participant attains age 65 and using the annuitant mortality tables for ages 65 and above.

(5)Base mortality tables. The following are the base mortality tables. The base year for these tables is 2012.

Table 2 to Paragraph (c)(5)-Healthy Lives Base Mortality Table

Age	Males		Females
Age	Non-annuitant	Annuitant	Non-annuitant	Annuitant
0	0.00650	0.00650	0.00544	0.00544

1	0.00045	0.00045	0.00038	0.00038
2	0.00030	0.00030	0.00023	0.00023
3	0.00022	0.00022	0.00018	0.00018
4	0.00019	0.00019	0.00013	0.00013
5	0.00016	0.00016	0.00012	0.00012
6	0.00014	0.00014	0.00011	0.00011
7	0.00013	0.00013	0.00010	0.00010
8	0.00011	0.00011	0.00009	0.00009
9	0.00009	0.00009	0.00009	0.00009
10	0.00008	0.00008	0.00009	0.00009
11	0.00009	0.00009	0.00009	0.00009
12	0.00013	0.00013	0.00010	0.00010
13	0.00017	0.00017	0.00012	0.00012
14	0.00022	0.00022	0.00013	0.00013
15	0.00028	0.00028	0.00013	0.00013
16	0.00034	0.00034	0.00014	0.00014
17	0.00040	0.00040	0.00015	0.00015
18	0.00046	0.00046	0.00015	0.00015
19	0.00053	0.00053	0.00015	0.00015
20	0.00056	0.00056	0.00015	0.00015
21	0.00056	0.00056	0.00015	0.00015
22	0.00056	0.00056	0.00016	0.00016
23	0.00055	0.00055	0.00018	0.00018
24	0.00055	0.00055	0.00019	0.00019
25	0.00054	0.00054	0.00019	0.00019
26	0.00054	0.00054	0.00019	0.00019
27	0.00054	0.00054	0.00020	0.00020
28	0.00054	0.00054	0.00020	0.00020
29	0.00054	0.00054	0.00020	0.00020
30	0.00055	0.00055	0.00021	0.00021
31	0.00055	0.00055	0.00022	0.00022
32	0.00056	0.00056	0.00023	0.00023
33	0.00058	0.00058	0.00025	0.00025
34	0.00059	0.00059	0.00026	0.00026
35	0.00061	0.00061	0.00028	0.00028
36	0.00063	0.00063	0.00031	0.00031
37	0.00065	0.00065	0.00034	0.00034
38	0.00068	0.00068	0.00036	0.00036
39	0.00071	0.00071	0.00040	0.00040
40	0.00074	0.00074	0.00043	0.00043
41	0.00077	0.00082	0.00047	0.00049
42	0.00081	0.00099	0.00051	0.00061
43	0.00086	0.00124	0.00055	0.00078
44	0.00091	0.00158	0.00060	0.00101
45	0.00097	0.00200	0.00065	0.00130
46	0.00105	0.00251	0.00071	0.00165
47	0.00113	0.00310	0.00077	0.00206
48	0.00123	0.00378	0.00083	0.00252
49	0.00134	0.00454	0.00090	0.00304
50	0.00147	0.00539	0.00098	0.00362
51	0.00161	0.00544	0.00107	0.00426
52	0.00177	0.00565	0.00116	0.00495
53	0.00194	0.00588	0.00126	0.00500
54	0.00213	0.00616	0.00137	0.00512
55	0.00234	0.00647	0.00148	0.00517
56	0.00257	0.00686	0.00161	0.00522
57	0.00281	0.00728	0.00175	0.00528
58	0.00308	0.00770	0.00190	0.00561
59	0.00338	0.00811	0.00206	0.00601
60	0.00369	0.00848	0.00224	0.00643
61	0.00403	0.00882	0.00243	0.00690
62	0.00441	0.00918	0.00264	0.00743
63	0.00481	0.00960	0.00287	0.00796
64	0.00525	0.01014	0.00312	0.00859
65	0.00573	0.01087	0.00339	0.00928
66	0.00636	0.01178	0.00380	0.01003
67	0.00706	0.01288	0.00427	0.01089
68	0.00784	0.01418	0.00480	0.01192
69	0.00870	0.01564	0.00540	0.01309
70	0.00967	0.01729	0.00606	0.01444
71	0.01073	0.01914	0.00681	0.01597
72	0.01192	0.02121	0.00765	0.01770
73	0.01323	0.02354	0.00860	0.01967
74	0.01469	0.02613	0.00966	0.02192
75	0.01632	0.02905	0.01085	0.02445
76	0.01812	0.03233	0.01219	0.02727
77	0.02012	0.03604	0.01370	0.03042
78	0.02234	0.04026	0.01539	0.03391
79	0.02480	0.04504	0.01729	0.03775
80	0.02754	0.05046	0.01943	0.04198
81	0.02989	0.05657	0.02134	0.04663
82	0.03460	0.06343	0.02516	0.05178
83	0.04166	0.07114	0.03089	0.05754
84	0.05108	0.07977	0.03853	0.06401
85	0.06285	0.08946	0.04808	0.07132
86	0.07698	0.10032	0.05955	0.07954
87	0.09346	0.11248	0.07293	0.08879
88	0.11229	0.12600	0.08822	0.09936
89	0.13348	0.14088	0.10542	0.11124
90	0.15703	0.15703	0.12453	0.12453
91	0.17401	0.17401	0.13818	0.13818
92	0.19151	0.19151	0.15250	0.15250
93	0.20936	0.20936	0.16737	0.16737
94	0.22742	0.22742	0.18274	0.18274
95	0.24569	0.24569	0.19863	0.19863
96	0.26415	0.26415	0.21509	0.21509
97	0.28281	0.28281	0.23214	0.23214
98	0.30169	0.30169	0.24983	0.24983
99	0.32077	0.32077	0.26814	0.26814
100	0.33996	0.33996	0.28698	0.28698
101	0.35910	0.35910	0.30619	0.30619
102	0.37794	0.37794	0.32549	0.32549
103	0.39633	0.39633	0.34472	0.34472
104	0.41415	0.41415	0.36375	0.36375
105	0.43131	0.43131	0.38243	0.38243
106	0.44771	0.44771	0.40065	0.40065
107	0.46329	0.46329	0.41828	0.41828
108	0.47800	0.47800	0.43522	0.43522
109	0.49181	0.49181	0.45139	0.45139
110	0.50000	0.50000	0.46673	0.46673
111	0.50000	0.50000	0.48120	0.48120
112	0.50000	0.50000	0.49477	0.49477
113	0.50000	0.50000	0.50000	0.50000
114	0.50000	0.50000	0.50000	0.50000
115	0.50000	0.50000	0.50000	0.50000
116	0.50000	0.50000	0.50000	0.50000
117	0.50000	0.50000	0.50000	0.50000
118	0.50000	0.50000	0.50000	0.50000
119	0.50000	0.50000	0.50000	0.50000
120	1.00000	1.00000	1.00000	1.00000

(d)Social Security disabled lives. If the individual is Social Security disabled under paragraph (f)(1) of this section, the plan administrator will value the benefit using the following table.

Table 3 to Paragraph (d)-Social Security Disabled Lives Mortality Table

Age	Male	Female
16	0.012544	0.004759
17	0.007102	0.006541
18	0.005859	0.008035
19	0.009998	0.008369
20	0.008926	0.009224
21	0.008533	0.008144
22	0.008158	0.008616
23	0.008970	0.008127
24	0.008433	0.008318
25	0.008696	0.008851
26	0.009211	0.008002
27	0.009362	0.008694
28	0.009780	0.009477
29	0.010049	0.009664
30	0.011093	0.009417
31	0.011075	0.009985
32	0.010931	0.010524
33	0.011890	0.010648
34	0.012529	0.011252
35	0.012418	0.011450
36	0.013234	0.011448
37	0.013832	0.012135
38	0.014457	0.012579
39	0.015830	0.012619
40	0.016153	0.013578
41	0.016859	0.014243
42	0.017464	0.014520
43	0.018302	0.014773
44	0.019127	0.015630
45	0.020380	0.016131
46	0.021607	0.016874
47	0.023407	0.017547
48	0.023956	0.018198
49	0.025631	0.019281
50	0.026384	0.019413
51	0.027277	0.020343
52	0.028582	0.020488
53	0.030164	0.021316
54	0.031262	0.021960
55	0.031728	0.021969
56	0.033067	0.022897
57	0.034230	0.023556
58	0.035474	0.024159
59	0.036790	0.024958
60	0.037772	0.025905
61	0.039297	0.027414
62	0.039954	0.028394
63	0.041069	0.029795
64	0.042280	0.030776
65	0.039144	0.028230
66	0.043862	0.031667
67	0.046182	0.033318
68	0.048624	0.034728
69	0.052077	0.037341
70	0.055284	0.039491
71	0.058951	0.042134
72	0.062301	0.044962
73	0.067099	0.047548
74	0.071469	0.051148
75	0.075068	0.055271
76	0.080425	0.059382
77	0.085531	0.063489
78	0.091585	0.068675
79	0.098383	0.074929
80	0.104788	0.080536
81	0.113110	0.088455
82	0.122062	0.094573
83	0.131697	0.103589
84	0.140430	0.111345
85	0.151890	0.122160
86	0.165777	0.130844
87	0.176875	0.142631
88	0.188397	0.156112
89	0.206651	0.166591
90	0.223252	0.182064
91	0.235073	0.197059
92	0.249318	0.205768
93	0.267740	0.225325
94	0.277033	0.240441
95	0.284003	0.260724
96	0.298740	0.281817
97	0.313086	0.293156
98	0.328740	0.308400
99	0.345177	0.324436
100	0.362436	0.341307
101	0.380558	0.359055
102	0.399586	0.377726
103	0.419565	0.397368
104	0.440543	0.418031
105	0.462571	0.439768
106	0.485699	0.462636
107	0.509984	0.486693
108	0.535483	0.512001
109	0.562257	0.538626
110	0.590370	0.566634
111+	1.000000	1.000000

(e)Non-Social Security disabled lives. If the individual is non-Social Security disabled under paragraph (f)(2) of this section, the plan administrator will value the benefit using generational mortality tables described in paragraph (c) of this section.

(f)Definitions of disability -

(1)Social Security disabled. A participant is Social Security disabled if, on the valuation date, the participant is less than age 65 and has a benefit in pay status that-

(i) Is being received as a disability benefit under a plan provision requiring either receipt of or eligibility for Social Security disability benefits, or

(ii) Was converted under the plan's terms from a disability benefit under a plan provision requiring either receipt of or eligibility for Social Security disability benefits to an early or normal retirement benefit for any reason other than a change in the participant's health status.

(2)Non-Social Security disabled. A participant is non-Social Security disabled if, on the valuation date, the participant is less than age 65, is not Social Security disabled, and has a benefit in pay status that-

(i) Is being received as a disability benefit under the plan, or

(ii) Was converted under the plan's terms from a disability benefit to an early or normal retirement benefit for any reason other than a change in the participant's health status.

(g)Contingent annuitant mortality during deferral period. If a participant's joint and survivor benefit is valued as a deferred annuity, the mortality of the contingent annuitant during the deferral period will be disregarded.

(h)Missing participants mortality. The following mortality table is used to value benefits using " PBGC missing participants assumptions" under part 4050, subparts A, C, and D of this chapter.

Table 4 to Paragraph (h)-Missing Participants Mortality Table for Determination Dates in 2024

Age	Unisex mortality	Age	Unisex mortality
0	0.00207	61	0.00370
1	0.00015	62	0.00441
2	0.00010	63	0.00514
3	0.00008	64	0.00577
4	0.00006	65	0.00658
5	0.00006	66	0.00748
6	0.00005	67	0.00834
7	0.00005	68	0.00928
8	0.00004	69	0.01034
9	0.00004	70	0.01155
10	0.00004	71	0.01294
11	0.00004	72	0.01452
12	0.00005	73	0.01631
13	0.00006	74	0.01837
14	0.00008	75	0.02073
15	0.00009	76	0.02345
16	0.00010	77	0.02656
17	0.00012	78	0.03012
18	0.00014	79	0.03417
19	0.00016	80	0.03899
20	0.00016	81	0.04395
21	0.00017	82	0.04959
22	0.00017	83	0.05595
23	0.00018	84	0.06317
24	0.00019	85	0.07138
25	0.00020	86	0.08063
26	0.00021	87	0.09107
27	0.00022	88	0.10286
28	0.00023	89	0.11596
29	0.00023	90	0.13036
30	0.00025	91	0.14540
31	0.00026	92	0.16090
32	0.00028	93	0.17679
33	0.00030	94	0.19284
34	0.00032	95	0.20898
35	0.00034	96	0.22620
36	0.00036	97	0.24386
37	0.00038	98	0.26196
38	0.00040	99	0.28059
39	0.00043	100	0.29960
40	0.00044	101	0.31891
41	0.00046	102	0.33825
42	0.00048	103	0.35757
43	0.00049	104	0.37670
44	0.00052	105	0.39521
45	0.00054	106	0.41327
46	0.00058	107	0.43080
47	0.00061	108	0.44743
48	0.00065	109	0.46339
49	0.00070	110	0.47628
50	0.00076	111	0.48468
51	0.00085	112	0.49268
52	0.00095	113	0.49666
53	0.00106	114	0.49795
54	0.00120	115	0.49928
55	0.00143	116	0.49960
56	0.00177	117	0.49978
57	0.00205	118	0.49995
58	0.00239	119	0.50000
59	0.00276	120	1.00000
60	0.00321

29 C.F.R. §4044.53

70 FR 72207, Dec. 2, 2005

89 FR 48300, 7/8/2024