Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) vs Chicago Teachers Pension Fund
Side-by-side pension health comparison from DOL and public plan data
Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) and Chicago Teachers Pension Fund are meaningfully apart on the LakeQuality pension-health rubric: Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) grades A while Chicago Teachers Pension Fund grades D. Funding ratios: 81% vs 43%.
Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) 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
Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 80/100 (A) compared to Chicago Teachers Pension Fund at 44/100 (D). Funding ratios differ by 38.4 percentage points (81.2% vs 42.8%). Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) covers 438,000 participants.
| Metric | Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) | Chicago Teachers Pension Fund |
|---|---|---|
| Health Score Composite of funding ratio, trend, and PBGC risk | 80/100 (A)* | 44/100 (D) |
| Funding Ratio Assets as % of liabilities (100%+ is fully funded) | 81.2%* | 42.8% |
| Total Assets | $51.2B | $12.4B |
| Total Liabilities | $63.1B | $29.0B* |
| Unfunded Liability | $11.9B* | $16.6B |
| Participants | 438,000 | 69,000 |
| 1-Year Investment Return | 5.8%* | 4.6% |
| Plan Type | public | public |
| PBGC Risk Level | low | critical |
| Sponsor | State of Illinois | City of Chicago |
Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 80/100 (A) compared to Chicago Teachers Pension Fund at 44/100 (D). Funding ratios differ by 38.4 percentage points (81.2% vs 42.8%). Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) covers 438,000 participants.
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