Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) vs University of California Retirement Plan
Side-by-side pension health comparison from DOL and public plan data
Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) and University of California Retirement Plan are meaningfully apart on the LakeQuality pension-health rubric: Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) grades D while University of California Retirement Plan grades B. Funding ratios: 45% vs 84%.
University of California Retirement Plan 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
University of California Retirement Plan has a stronger Pension Health Score of 78/100 (B) compared to Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) at 44/100 (D). Funding ratios differ by 38.8 percentage points (83.5% vs 44.7%). University of California Retirement Plan covers 305,000 participants.
| Metric | Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) | University of California Retirement Plan |
|---|---|---|
| Health Score Composite of funding ratio, trend, and PBGC risk | 44/100 (D) | 78/100 (B)* |
| Funding Ratio Assets as % of liabilities (100%+ is fully funded) | 44.7% | 83.5%* |
| Total Assets | $62.8B | $82.0B |
| Total Liabilities | $140.5B | $98.2B* |
| Unfunded Liability | $77.7B | $16.2B* |
| Participants | 424,000 | 305,000 |
| 1-Year Investment Return | 4.8% | 7.2%* |
| Plan Type | public | public |
| PBGC Risk Level | critical | low |
| Sponsor | State of Illinois | University of California |
University of California Retirement Plan has a stronger Pension Health Score of 78/100 (B) compared to Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) at 44/100 (D). Funding ratios differ by 38.8 percentage points (83.5% vs 44.7%). University of California Retirement Plan covers 305,000 participants.