State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) vs School Employees Retirement System of Ohio (SERS)
Side-by-side pension health comparison from DOL and public plan data
State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) and School Employees Retirement System of Ohio (SERS) are meaningfully apart on the LakeQuality pension-health rubric: State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) grades D while School Employees Retirement System of Ohio (SERS) grades B. Funding ratios: 44% vs 68%.
School Employees Retirement System of Ohio (SERS) 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
School Employees Retirement System of Ohio (SERS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 66/100 (B) compared to State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) at 42/100 (D). Funding ratios differ by 23.8 percentage points (67.9% vs 44.1%). School Employees Retirement System of Ohio (SERS) covers 218,000 participants.
| Metric | State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) | School Employees Retirement System of Ohio (SERS) |
|---|---|---|
| Health Score Composite of funding ratio, trend, and PBGC risk | 42/100 (D) | 66/100 (B)* |
| Funding Ratio Assets as % of liabilities (100%+ is fully funded) | 44.1% | 67.9%* |
| Total Assets | $22.5B | $16.2B |
| Total Liabilities | $51.0B | $23.9B* |
| Unfunded Liability | $28.5B | $7.7B* |
| Participants | 218,000 | 218,000 |
| 1-Year Investment Return | 5.1% | 5.3%* |
| Plan Type | public | public |
| PBGC Risk Level | critical | moderate |
| Sponsor | State of Illinois | State of Ohio |
School Employees Retirement System of Ohio (SERS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 66/100 (B) compared to State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) at 42/100 (D). Funding ratios differ by 23.8 percentage points (67.9% vs 44.1%). School Employees Retirement System of Ohio (SERS) covers 218,000 participants.