Illinois state government contributes the equivalent of 35 to 127 percent of government-worker salaries to keep its pension systems above water.
Cities across Illinois have been forced to slash services and hike taxes to make room in the budget for pension costs.
Senate Bill 2758 establishes a brand new governmental entity with a brand new governmental function: to establish and administer a “mostly mandatory” IRA retirement savings program for private-sector workers.
Few options remain as Illinois governments confront budget-busting pension obligations.
Illinois ranks worst in the nation on ability to pay for its pension debt.
Pension recipients should not be treated as a privileged class of citizens.
Senate Bill 1 has been stuck down.
Utah’s pension funds had a 50 percent chance of becoming insolvent by 2028 prior to the state’s reform plan. The chance dropped to 10 percent after the state greatly improved the solvency of its pension funds with 401(k)-style reforms.
With a mere 39 cents on hand for every dollar needed to pay for future benefits, the state would need a three-year government shutdown just to break even.
The Peach State has been keen to modernize their public pension system.
Illinois’ municipal pension shortfall, excluding Chicago, has spiked to more than $12 billion from $1 billion just a decade ago.
A federal judge approved Detroit’s historic Chapter 9 bankruptcy, allowing the city to shave off $7 billion in liabilities from a total debt of $18 billion.
At the rate pension costs are expected to increase, by 2029 the state will spend more on retirement costs than on aid to schools.
In 2005, Alaska froze the state’s traditional defined-benefit pension plan and created a self-managed 401(k)-style retirement plan for new public employees and teachers.