Top 25 Biggest Annual Pension Payouts in SURS

Taxpayers United of America recently released a new analysis of the State Universities Retirement System — the second-largest of the five Illinois pension funds.

The Chicago-based organization, which advocates for tax relief and pension reform, routinely publishes lists highlighting the state’s biggest pensioners. Its latest analysis focuses on the retirement system for academics and staff at public universities and community colleges in Illinois.

“SURS is in dire need of significant pension reform, much like the other Illinois state pension funds. But since individual SURS retirees are some of the highest paid employees, and therefore biggest pensioners in Illinois, the need for reform is all the more serious for both beneficiaries and taxpayers,” said Jared Labell, the organization’s director of operations.

As of June 30, 2015, SURS had a funded ratio of 44.2 percent with $22.1 billion in unfunded pension liabilities, according to a report published in March by the General Assembly’s Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability.

Here are the Top 25 biggest annual pension payouts in SURS, according to TUA.

The list also includes each retiree's title, employer, estimated lifetime pension payout, employee contributions, highest annual earnings and pension benefits collected to date, among other figures.

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