Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund vs State Employees Retirement System of Illinois (SERS)
Side-by-side pension health comparison from DOL and public plan data
Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund and State Employees Retirement System of Illinois (SERS) are meaningfully apart on the LakeQuality pension-health rubric: Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund grades A while State Employees Retirement System of Illinois (SERS) grades D. Funding ratios: 94% vs 40%.
Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund 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
Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund has a stronger Pension Health Score of 97/100 (A) compared to State Employees Retirement System of Illinois (SERS) at 40/100 (D). Funding ratios differ by 53.7 percentage points (94.1% vs 40.4%). Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund covers 634,861 participants.
| Metric | Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund | State Employees Retirement System of Illinois (SERS) |
|---|---|---|
| Health Score Composite of funding ratio, trend, and PBGC risk | 97/100 (A)* | 40/100 (D) |
| Funding Ratio Assets as % of liabilities (100%+ is fully funded) | 94.1%* | 40.4% |
| Total Assets | $55.6B | $19.8B |
| Total Liabilities | $59.1B | $49.0B* |
| Unfunded Liability | $3.5B* | $29.2B |
| Participants | 634,861 | 152,000 |
| 1-Year Investment Return | 4.5% | 4.5% |
| Plan Type | multiemployer | public |
| PBGC Risk Level | low | critical |
| Sponsor | Teamsters Central States | State of Illinois |
Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund has a stronger Pension Health Score of 97/100 (A) compared to State Employees Retirement System of Illinois (SERS) at 40/100 (D). Funding ratios differ by 53.7 percentage points (94.1% vs 40.4%). Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund covers 634,861 participants.
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