Modern design of life annuities in view of longevity and pandemics

We consider annuity designs in which the benefit amount is contingent on a given longevity/mortality experience. This means, in particular, that the benefit amount is allowed to increase in case of higher mortality than expected, while it can decrease in the opposite case. Guarantees can still be maintained (for example, setting a minimum and a maximum benefit amount), but relaxed in respect of traditional annuity arrangements. This should result in lower premium loadings, thus helping to make the product more popular. In this research we investigate a pricing approach based on periodic fees applied to the policy account value, instead of the usual up-front loading at issue, solution that can make the product structure more flexible.