Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) vs Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS)
Side-by-side pension health comparison from DOL and public plan data
Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) and Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS) are meaningfully apart on the LakeQuality pension-health rubric: Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) grades D while Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS) grades A. Funding ratios: 45% vs 86%.
Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS) 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
Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 81/100 (A) compared to Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) at 44/100 (D). Funding ratios differ by 41.5 percentage points (86.2% vs 44.7%). Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS) covers 385,000 participants.
| Metric | Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) | Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS) |
|---|---|---|
| Health Score Composite of funding ratio, trend, and PBGC risk | 44/100 (D) | 81/100 (A)* |
| Funding Ratio Assets as % of liabilities (100%+ is fully funded) | 44.7% | 86.2%* |
| Total Assets | $62.8B | $39.5B |
| Total Liabilities | $140.5B | $45.8B* |
| Unfunded Liability | $77.7B | $6.3B* |
| Participants | 424,000 | 385,000 |
| 1-Year Investment Return | 4.8% | 6.6%* |
| Plan Type | public | public |
| PBGC Risk Level | critical | low |
| Sponsor | State of Illinois | Texas Counties |
Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 81/100 (A) compared to Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) at 44/100 (D). Funding ratios differ by 41.5 percentage points (86.2% vs 44.7%). Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS) covers 385,000 participants.