California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) vs State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS)
Side-by-side pension health comparison from DOL and public plan data
California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) and State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) are meaningfully apart on the LakeQuality pension-health rubric: California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) grades B while State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) grades D. Funding ratios: 73% vs 44%.
California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) comes out ahead on the composite rubric. For a participant in either plan, the spread is informative but not directly actionable — pension participation is not portable, so the relevant question is what each plan's funded-status trajectory means for that participant's benefit security.
Verdict
California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 73/100 (B) compared to State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) at 42/100 (D). Funding ratios differ by 28.8 percentage points (72.9% vs 44.1%). California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) covers 985,000 participants.
| Metric | California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) | State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) |
|---|---|---|
| Health Score Composite of funding ratio, trend, and PBGC risk | 73/100 (B)* | 42/100 (D) |
| Funding Ratio Assets as % of liabilities (100%+ is fully funded) | 72.9%* | 44.1% |
| Total Assets | $318.0B | $22.5B |
| Total Liabilities | $436.0B | $51.0B* |
| Unfunded Liability | $118.0B | $28.5B* |
| Participants | 985,000 | 218,000 |
| 1-Year Investment Return | 6.2%* | 5.1% |
| Plan Type | public | public |
| PBGC Risk Level | moderate | critical |
| Sponsor | State of California | State of Illinois |
California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 73/100 (B) compared to State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) at 42/100 (D). Funding ratios differ by 28.8 percentage points (72.9% vs 44.1%). California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) covers 985,000 participants.