Missouri Public School Retirement System (PSRS) vs State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS)
Side-by-side pension health comparison from DOL and public plan data
Missouri Public School Retirement System (PSRS) and State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) are meaningfully apart on the LakeQuality pension-health rubric: Missouri Public School Retirement System (PSRS) grades A while State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) grades D. Funding ratios: 84% vs 44%.
Missouri Public School Retirement System (PSRS) 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
Missouri Public School Retirement System (PSRS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 80/100 (A) compared to State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) at 42/100 (D). Funding ratios differ by 39.7 percentage points (83.8% vs 44.1%). Missouri Public School Retirement System (PSRS) covers 220,000 participants.
| Metric | Missouri Public School Retirement System (PSRS) | State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) |
|---|---|---|
| Health Score Composite of funding ratio, trend, and PBGC risk | 80/100 (A)* | 42/100 (D) |
| Funding Ratio Assets as % of liabilities (100%+ is fully funded) | 83.8%* | 44.1% |
| Total Assets | $47.0B | $22.5B |
| Total Liabilities | $56.1B | $51.0B* |
| Unfunded Liability | $9.1B* | $28.5B |
| Participants | 220,000 | 218,000 |
| 1-Year Investment Return | 6.3%* | 5.1% |
| Plan Type | public | public |
| PBGC Risk Level | low | critical |
| Sponsor | State of Missouri | State of Illinois |
Missouri Public School Retirement System (PSRS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 80/100 (A) compared to State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) at 42/100 (D). Funding ratios differ by 39.7 percentage points (83.8% vs 44.1%). Missouri Public School Retirement System (PSRS) covers 220,000 participants.