Illinois pension report: unfunded liability rose 1.8% in 2023
2 min read
Illinois’ Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability on Thursday released its
To drive this point home, COGFA included a comparison of the actuarially determined contributions for fiscal year 2025 and the state’s contributions in its report. For TRS, there was a $3.9 billion difference between the actuarial figure and the state contribution. For SERS, there was a $595.7 million difference. SURS had a $349.8 million gap. JRS had a $29.7 million shortfall, and GARS a $7.6 million disparity.
The total unfunded liability has risen steadily from $77.8 billion in 2009 to 2023’s figure, which is
The only years in which it decreased, albeit slightly, were 2011, 2017 and 2021. COGFA attributed the 2021 drop to “exceptional investment returns.”
In a given year, if any particular factor is markedly different from system actuaries’ assumptions, noticeable changes in unfunded liabilities can result. For instance, 2023 brought “larger than expected salary increases” across all five pension systems, COGFA said.
Most of the total unfunded liability comes from the three top pension systems, known as the “Big Three”: TRS, SERS and SURS. The Big Three, but especially TRS, are still paying down pension liabilities that shot up particularly sharply between 2008 and 2009, when the pension system suffered steep investment losses.
In 2023, TRS saw a 7.09% rate of return on its investments. SERS saw a 6.32% rate of return. SURS saw a 5.34% return, JRS a 6.33% return and GARS a 6.16% return.
Fitch Ratings assigns Illinois
