Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) vs State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS)
Side-by-side pension health comparison from DOL and public plan data
Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) and State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) are meaningfully apart on the LakeQuality pension-health rubric: Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) grades B while State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) grades D. Funding ratios: 70% vs 44%.
Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) 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
Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 66/100 (B) compared to State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) at 42/100 (D). Funding ratios differ by 26.0 percentage points (70.1% vs 44.1%). Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) covers 327,000 participants.
| Metric | Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) | State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) |
|---|---|---|
| Health Score Composite of funding ratio, trend, and PBGC risk | 66/100 (B)* | 42/100 (D) |
| Funding Ratio Assets as % of liabilities (100%+ is fully funded) | 70.1%* | 44.1% |
| Total Assets | $31.5B | $22.5B |
| Total Liabilities | $44.9B* | $51.0B |
| Unfunded Liability | $13.4B* | $28.5B |
| Participants | 327,000 | 218,000 |
| 1-Year Investment Return | 5.5%* | 5.1% |
| Plan Type | public | public |
| PBGC Risk Level | moderate | critical |
| Sponsor | State of Texas | State of Illinois |
Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 66/100 (B) compared to State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) at 42/100 (D). Funding ratios differ by 26.0 percentage points (70.1% vs 44.1%). Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) covers 327,000 participants.