SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS/WRSP) — Retired public service workers gathered Monday to urge lawmakers to put more money into state pension funds.
The pension situation in Illinois is often referred to as a crisis because as of June 2021, the unfunded pension liabilities were almost $140 billion, according to a Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability report.
That is money the state has promised to retirees who say they need it to live.
There’s a proposal in this year’s budget to put half a billion dollars toward pension debt on top of the required payments from the state.
At Monday’s press conference, retirees from all different jobs said politicians have borrowed money from their retirement funds like a credit card over the years and now is the time to make it right.
“I rely on my pension to get by, to subsist,” said Patricia Johnson, a former admissions professional at Northeastern Illinois University. “This is something that is overdue, and it’s the right way to make a start at fixing the problem.”
Johnson said she dutifully put money toward retirement her whole career, and now it’s the state’s turn to make a contribution.
According to Louis Goseland with the Illinois Alliance for Retired Americans, the state administers three pension funds, one each for teachers, state employees, and university employees.
The governor’s office says adding this extra money into the pension funds will save taxpayers $1.8 billion in the future.
Lawmakers are expected to pass a budget before the close of their spring session, which is set to end in early April.
