State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) vs Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS)
Side-by-side pension health comparison from DOL and public plan data
State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) and Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) are meaningfully apart on the LakeQuality pension-health rubric: State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) grades D while Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) grades A. Funding ratios: 44% 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 State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) at 42/100 (D). Funding ratios differ by 43.7 percentage points (87.8% vs 44.1%). Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) covers 218,000 participants.
| Metric | State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) | Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) |
|---|---|---|
| Health Score Composite of funding ratio, trend, and PBGC risk | 42/100 (D) | 82/100 (A)* |
| Funding Ratio Assets as % of liabilities (100%+ is fully funded) | 44.1% | 87.8%* |
| Total Assets | $22.5B | $36.8B |
| Total Liabilities | $51.0B | $41.9B* |
| Unfunded Liability | $28.5B | $5.1B* |
| Participants | 218,000 | 218,000 |
| 1-Year Investment Return | 5.1% | 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 State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) at 42/100 (D). Funding ratios differ by 43.7 percentage points (87.8% vs 44.1%). Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) covers 218,000 participants.