Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) vs Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS)
Side-by-side pension health comparison from DOL and public plan data
Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) and Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) are meaningfully apart on the LakeQuality pension-health rubric: Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) grades D while Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) grades A. Funding ratios: 45% vs 88%.
Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) 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 Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 82/100 (A) compared to Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) at 44/100 (D). Funding ratios differ by 43.1 percentage points (87.8% vs 44.7%). Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) covers 218,000 participants.
| Metric | Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) | Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) |
|---|---|---|
| Health Score Composite of funding ratio, trend, and PBGC risk | 44/100 (D) | 82/100 (A)* |
| Funding Ratio Assets as % of liabilities (100%+ is fully funded) | 44.7% | 87.8%* |
| Total Assets | $62.8B | $36.8B |
| Total Liabilities | $140.5B | $41.9B* |
| Unfunded Liability | $77.7B | $5.1B* |
| Participants | 424,000 | 218,000 |
| 1-Year Investment Return | 4.8% | 6.3%* |
| Plan Type | public | public |
| PBGC Risk Level | critical | low |
| Sponsor | State of Illinois | Texas Cities |
Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 82/100 (A) compared to Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) at 44/100 (D). Funding ratios differ by 43.1 percentage points (87.8% vs 44.7%). Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) covers 218,000 participants.