Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) vs Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS)
Side-by-side pension health comparison from DOL and public plan data
Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) and Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) are meaningfully apart on the LakeQuality pension-health rubric: Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) grades D while Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) grades B. Funding ratios: 45% vs 70%.
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 Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) at 44/100 (D). Funding ratios differ by 25.4 percentage points (70.1% vs 44.7%). Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) covers 327,000 participants.
| Metric | Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) | Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) |
|---|---|---|
| Health Score Composite of funding ratio, trend, and PBGC risk | 44/100 (D) | 66/100 (B)* |
| Funding Ratio Assets as % of liabilities (100%+ is fully funded) | 44.7% | 70.1%* |
| Total Assets | $62.8B | $31.5B |
| Total Liabilities | $140.5B | $44.9B* |
| Unfunded Liability | $77.7B | $13.4B* |
| Participants | 424,000 | 327,000 |
| 1-Year Investment Return | 4.8% | 5.5%* |
| Plan Type | public | public |
| PBGC Risk Level | critical | moderate |
| Sponsor | State of Illinois | State of Texas |
Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 66/100 (B) compared to Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) at 44/100 (D). Funding ratios differ by 25.4 percentage points (70.1% vs 44.7%). Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) covers 327,000 participants.