Updated May 2026 · DOL Form 5500
City of Chicago Pension Plans
Government
City of Chicago sponsors 4 defined-benefit plans covering 172,500 active and retired participants, placing the sponsor among the larger U.S. private pension liability holders. The combined plans are critically underfunded at 30.2% average funding ratio — below the 60% threshold that signals serious solvency stress. Worst single-plan grade is F.
City of Chicago carries meaningful pension underfunding: 4 plans, 172,500 participants, $25.2B in assets against $83.4B in liabilities. The 30% average funding ratio means the company will need elevated contributions or eventual liability transfers to bring funded status up.
The plans on file for City of Chicago include both active accrual plans (still adding benefits for current employees) and frozen plans (paying out earned benefits without new accruals). The worst grade among the plans is F — a useful flag for which specific plan to examine most closely. City of Chicago operates in the Government sector. Industry context matters for pension analysis: cyclical industries with volatile cash flow face harder funding patterns than steady-margin sectors, and the underlying ERISA and PBGC obligations are uniform across sectors regardless.
What the Numbers Mean for City of Chicago
City of Chicago's combined pension footprint reports $25.2B in plan assets against $83.4B in accrued benefit obligations, producing an aggregate funding ratio of 30.2%. The unfunded gap of $58.2B is the dollar amount that would have to be contributed today, on top of expected investment returns at the assumed discount rate, to bring every plan to 100% funded.
City of Chicago's weakest plan earns an F — at least one plan is critically underfunded, and participants should review their plan's most recent Annual Funding Notice and PBGC guarantee tables. The worst-grade signal is more useful than the average for a multi-plan sponsor — a healthy aggregate average can mask a single critically underfunded legacy plan inherited through acquisition. Participants in a specific plan should look at that plan's individual page rather than the company-level average.
City of Chicago is required under ERISA to file Form 5500 annually for each plan, with Schedule SB disclosing the actuarial valuation, funding target, and minimum required contribution. Schedule SB filings are publicly available through DOL EBSA. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation separately publishes the federal guarantee that backstops these single-employer defined-benefit plans up to the statutory annual maximum.
Plans Sponsored by City of Chicago
| Plan Name | Type | Participants | Funding Ratio | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago Teachers Pension Fund | public | 69,000 | 42.8% | D |
| Chicago Municipal Employees Annuity & Benefit Fund | public | 59,000 | 25.3% | F |
| Chicago Policemen's Annuity & Benefit Fund | public | 31,000 | 23.3% | F |
| Chicago Firefighters Annuity & Benefit Fund | public | 13,500 | 19.5% | F |
How This Grade Is Calculated
Each plan's Pension Health Score combines three signals: funding ratio (50% of the composite), 3-year funding trend (30%), and PBGC risk level (20%). All three come directly from DOL Form 5500 filings and PBGC publications. The company-level "worst grade" surfaces the weakest plan in the sponsor's pension footprint — a useful signal for participants because legacy plans inherited through M&A often differ materially from the sponsor's active plans. Read the full methodology.
Frequently Asked Questions
How well-funded are City of Chicago's pension plans?
City of Chicago's 4 pension plans are on average 30.2% funded. Critically underfunded status means the plans hold below the 60% threshold that signals serious solvency stress. Total assets stand at $25.2B against $83.4B in accrued liabilities, leaving an unfunded gap of $58.2B.
Is City of Chicago's pension protected by PBGC?
Corporate single-employer defined-benefit plans like the ones City of Chicago sponsors are insured by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation up to a statutory annual maximum that varies by retirement age. PBGC publishes the current guarantee tables at pbgc.gov. Multiemployer plans, if applicable, fall under a separate PBGC insurance program with a much lower per-participant guarantee. The protection is real but capped — high earners with benefits above the PBGC maximum can lose the portion above the cap if a plan terminates underfunded.
What does the F grade mean for City of Chicago?
City of Chicago's weakest plan earns an F — at least one plan is critically underfunded, and participants should review their plan's most recent Annual Funding Notice and PBGC guarantee tables.
How many of City of Chicago's plans are underfunded?
Of 4 plans sponsored by City of Chicago, 0 are fully funded (100%+) and 4 fall below the 80% actuarial benchmark. Participants in any underfunded plan should request the most recent Annual Funding Notice, which is mailed annually under ERISA Section 101(f) and discloses the plan's adjusted funding target attainment percentage.
Where does this data come from and how current is it?
Every figure on this page comes directly from the Department of Labor's EBSA Form 5500 datasets, which compile every ERISA filing submitted by U.S. corporate pension sponsors. The most recent filings reflected here are from May 2026. Form 5500 typically lags plan year-end by 9–12 months. City of Chicago is classified in Government.
City of Chicago sponsors 4 defined-benefit plans covering 172,500 active and retired participants, placing the sponsor among the larger U.S. private pension liability holders. The combined plans are critically underfunded at 30.2% average funding ratio — below the 60% threshold that signals serious solvency stress. Worst single-plan grade is F.