Title Page & Abstract
An Interview with Jean-Pierre Aubry
Part of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
The Illinois Statecraft - Pension Crisis Oral History project
Interview # ISC-A-L-2016-027
Jean-Pierre Aubry, Associate Director of State and Local Research at the Center for Retirement Research-Boston College, was interviewed on the date listed below as part of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library’s Illinois Statecraft – Pension Crisis in Illinois Oral History project.
Interview dates & location:
Date: May 25, 2016 Location: Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library phone interview in Springfield, Il
Interview Format: Digital audio
Interviewer: Philip Pogue, ALPL volunteer
Transcription by: _________________________
Edited by: _______________________________
Total Pages: ______ Total Time: 0:47 / 0.78 hrs.
Accessioned into the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Archives on May 8, 2019.
The interview is archived at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield, Illinois.
© 2016 Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
Jean-Pierre Aubry, Illinois Statecraft, ISC-A-L-2016-027
Biographical Information Overview of Interview: Jean-Pierre Aubry received an undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania in the fields of economics and psychology in 2004 and joined the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College in 2006. In 2011, he became its Assistant Director. Aubry has co-authored many pension articles and studies dealing with pension funding, pension reform, sources of pension under-funding, liabilities of the largest municipal pension systems, differences between defined benefit versus defined contribution plans, and on COLA (Cost of Living Allowance) plans. Jean-Pierre has appeared on both television and radio broadcasts as a guest expert regarding pensions. He has also worked with specific pension plans in New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
In this interview, Aubry looks at the status of state and large municipal pension systems, including those in Illinois. He uses data collected by the Center for Retirement Research to examine such areas as defined benefits versus defined contributions, COLA reductions in seventeen states, the types of pension reforms that usually impact new employees, the under-funding of these systems, the impact of GASB (Governmental Accounting Standards Board) accounting changes, investment changes, and how the pension systems funding liabilities have changed between 2001 to 2014. Aubry also examined trends in nationwide pension systems and how the states and municipalities have dealt with pension under-funding. In addition, the interview discusses the strongest (Washington) and poorest states in funding ratios (Illinois and Kentucky) Finally, Aubry discusses future challenges facing large pension systems such as Illinois’s.
Subject Headings/Key Words: state pension system differences & similarities; 2009 recession and impact on state pension systems; defined benefit pension systems; defined contribution pension systems; unfunded liabilities in state pension systems; Illinois state public pension system; strategies for reforming state pension systems; under-funding of state pension systems
Note to the Reader: Readers of the oral history memoir should bear in mind that this is a transcript of the spoken word, and that the interviewer, interviewee and editor sought to preserve the informal, conversational style that is inherent in such historical sources. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library is not responsible for the factual accuracy of the memoir, nor for the views expressed therein. We leave these for the reader to judge.
COPYRIGHT
The following material can be used for educational and other non-commercial purposes without the written permission of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. “Fair use” criteria of Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976 must be followed. These materials are not to be deposited in other repositories, nor used for resale or commercial purposes without the authorization from the Audio-Visual Curator at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, 112 N. 6th Street, Springfield, Illinois 62701. Telephone (217) 785-7955