Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS) vs State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS)
Side-by-side pension health comparison from DOL and public plan data
Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS) and State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) are meaningfully apart on the LakeQuality pension-health rubric: Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS) grades A while State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) grades D. Funding ratios: 86% vs 44%.
Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS) 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 County & District Retirement System (TCDRS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 81/100 (A) compared to State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) at 42/100 (D). Funding ratios differ by 42.1 percentage points (86.2% vs 44.1%). Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS) covers 385,000 participants.
| Metric | Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS) | State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) |
|---|---|---|
| Health Score Composite of funding ratio, trend, and PBGC risk | 81/100 (A)* | 42/100 (D) |
| Funding Ratio Assets as % of liabilities (100%+ is fully funded) | 86.2%* | 44.1% |
| Total Assets | $39.5B | $22.5B |
| Total Liabilities | $45.8B* | $51.0B |
| Unfunded Liability | $6.3B* | $28.5B |
| Participants | 385,000 | 218,000 |
| 1-Year Investment Return | 6.6%* | 5.1% |
| Plan Type | public | public |
| PBGC Risk Level | low | critical |
| Sponsor | Texas Counties | State of Illinois |
Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS) has a stronger Pension Health Score of 81/100 (A) compared to State Universities Retirement System of Illinois (SURS) at 42/100 (D). Funding ratios differ by 42.1 percentage points (86.2% vs 44.1%). Texas County & District Retirement System (TCDRS) covers 385,000 participants.