North Carolina Retirement Systems vs Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS)
Side-by-side pension health comparison from DOL and public plan data
North Carolina Retirement Systems and Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) are meaningfully apart on the LakeQuality pension-health rubric: North Carolina Retirement Systems grades A while Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) grades D. Funding ratios: 87% vs 45%.
North Carolina Retirement Systems 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
North Carolina Retirement Systems 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 42.4 percentage points (87.1% vs 44.7%). North Carolina Retirement Systems covers 960,000 participants.
| Metric | North Carolina Retirement Systems | Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS) |
|---|---|---|
| Health Score Composite of funding ratio, trend, and PBGC risk | 82/100 (A)* | 44/100 (D) |
| Funding Ratio Assets as % of liabilities (100%+ is fully funded) | 87.1%* | 44.7% |
| Total Assets | $112.0B | $62.8B |
| Total Liabilities | $128.6B* | $140.5B |
| Unfunded Liability | $16.6B* | $77.7B |
| Participants | 960,000 | 424,000 |
| 1-Year Investment Return | 6.6%* | 4.8% |
| Plan Type | public | public |
| PBGC Risk Level | low | critical |
| Sponsor | State of North Carolina | State of Illinois |
North Carolina Retirement Systems 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 42.4 percentage points (87.1% vs 44.7%). North Carolina Retirement Systems covers 960,000 participants.