City of Rockford ranks among state’s worst-funded municipal pension systems: Illinois Policy Institute audit

March 4, 2014

Rockford has more government retirees collecting benefits than active public employees, taxpayers picking up the tab

ROCKFORD (Feb. 27, 2014) – State lawmakers spent the last few years debating state-level public pension reform in the capital, but a new study released by the Illinois Policy Institute suggests attention should turn to local government pensions, such as for the city of Rockford.

Researchers at the nonpartisan Illinois Policy Institute studied pension systems of all towns outside the city of Chicago that 1) participate in the IMRF, or Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, 2) have dedicated police and fire pension funds and 3) have a population above 15,000. The study found that, the city of Rockford ranks among the worst-funded local pension systems in the state. 

“More public retirees are collecting benefits than active public employees paying into the system. This forces Rockford taxpayers to pick up the tab,” said Ted Dabrowski, vice president of policy at the Illinois Policy Institute and lead author of the report. “Rockford’s dangerously underfunded pension system is adding more people to the pension rolls than the active payrolls. This puts taxpayers at risk for owing more and more to an unsustainable system.”

Here are some highlights from the report, titled, “The crisis hits home: Illinois’ local pension problem”:

  • Rockford residents pay three times more toward city pensions than government employees do. yet the city’s police and fire pensions only have 60 cents for every $1 that has been promised for the retirement costs of city workers.
  • Rockford only has 9 active government employees paying into the pension funds for every 10 public retirees collecting benefits.
  • Each Rockford household is liable for almost $4,000 of public pension debt. That is double from debt levels in 2003
  • Pension costs consume a third of the city of Rockford’s general fund property taxes.

View the full report online here: http://illinoispolicy.org/simplereport/the-crisis-hits-home-illinois-local-pension-problem/

For bookings or interviews with Ted Dabrowski, VP of Policy at the Illinois Policy Institute: (312) 607-4977