Illinois' 5 Pension Systems at a Glance

Since 1996, Illinois has appropriated $67.3 billion to the state’s five retirement systems, according to the General Assembly’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.

The Teachers’ Retirement System has received nearly 52 percent, or $34.9 billion, of state pension payments over the past 20 years, while the much smaller Judges’ and General Assembly Retirement Systems have been appropriated the least.

Based on the actuarial value of assets, which includes asset smoothing effects, the combined funded ratio of all five systems was 40.9 percent with $112.89 billion in unfunded pension liabilities as of June 30, 2015.

But as the commission’s report notes, the market value of assets paints a much more realistic picture of the systems’ financial positions because it reflects the volatility of the market. Using this valuation method, which does not include asset smoothing, unfunded liabilities totaled $111 billion and the funded ratio 41.9 percent.

Here are some fast facts and figures about the financial condition of the state’s five pension funds and each system’s members.

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