Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF)
public plan · State of Illinois · Oak Brook, IL
The plan is moderately funded (81%). $51.2B in assets back $63.1B in projected obligations, leaving $11.9B to close through future contributions and investment returns.
Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) is a public-sector pension plan sponsored by State of Illinois — covering government employees (state, local, or special-district workers). Public plans are not ERISA-governed and not PBGC-insured; they rely on state-level oversight and tax-base solvency. The plan remains active — accruing new benefits for current employees and accepting new participants. Among private-sector single-employer plans, the active status is increasingly rare as employers freeze accruals while continuing to fund existing obligations; public-sector plans are more often still actively accruing.
On scale, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) is a mega-plan: $51.2B in assets serving 438,000 participants (220,000 active, 218,000 retired). Plans this large dominate the U.S. pension landscape and carry concentrated solvency risk. The participant mix runs roughly even between 220,000 active workers and 218,000 retirees — a balanced demographic profile that gives the plan time to compound investment returns before payouts dominate cash flow. Annual cash flows: $2.0B in sponsor contributions versus $3.2B in benefit payments. Investment performance over the most recent year ran 5.8%, against the plan's assumed long-term return of 7.2%.
On PBGC risk classification: low — the plan's funded status and solvency trajectory are favorable enough that PBGC intervention is not on the near-term horizon. Public plans like Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) are not PBGC-insured. The benefit guarantee rests on the sponsoring government's ability and willingness to make required contributions, which interacts with state and local tax-base dynamics.
Source: DOL EFAST2 Form 5500 filings and Boston College CRR Public Plans Database.
Funding History
What This Means for You
Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) is in excellent financial health at 81% funded. This means for every dollar the plan owes in future benefits, it has 81 cents in assets to cover it. As a public pension, benefits are typically backed by the taxing authority of the sponsoring government. Participants in this plan have relatively low risk of benefit reductions.
Year-by-Year Funding
| Year | Assets | Liabilities | Funding Ratio | Contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $51.2B | $63.1B | 81.2% | $2.0B |
| 2022 | $49.7B | $62.1B | 80.0% | $1.9B |
| 2021 | $48.1B | $58.0B | 83.0% | $1.9B |
| 2020 | $46.6B | $60.5B | 77.0% | $1.8B |
| 2019 | $45.1B | $57.8B | 78.0% | $1.8B |
Frequently Asked Questions
Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) is 81% funded, meaning it has 81 cents in assets for every dollar in future benefit obligations. This is considered healthy by actuarial standards.
Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) has 438,000 total participants, including 220,000 active employees and 218,000 retirees currently receiving benefits.
Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) is not covered by the PBGC. Benefits depend entirely on the plan's assets and the sponsor's ability to fund it.
The Pension Health Score (0-100, A-F) measures a pension plan's financial strength based on funding ratio (50%), funding trend over 3 years (30%), and PBGC risk level (20%). Higher scores indicate more secure retirement benefits.
Pension Health Score is calculated from funding ratio, 3-year funding trend, and PBGC risk classification.