Judges Retirement System of Illinois
public plan · State of Illinois · Springfield, IL
Judges Retirement System of Illinois is severely underfunded at 35%, with $1.8B in unfunded liability. Plans in this bracket face significant solvency risk and are typically on regulatory funding-improvement plans, with active intervention from PBGC for private plans or state pension boards for public ones.
State of Illinois runs Judges Retirement System of Illinois as a public-sector defined-benefit plan. The plan operates outside the ERISA framework; oversight comes from state pension boards and the sponsor's legislative body rather than the federal Department of Labor or PBGC. 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.
The plan is mid-sized: $980M in assets, 3,100 participants (950 active, 2,150 retired). Mid-sized plans often outsource investment management to institutional advisors and follow standard actuarial conventions. Participant mix skews toward retirees (2,150 retired vs 950 active) — a mature plan paying out more than it accrues. Mature plans need stable investment returns plus sponsor contributions to keep the funded ratio steady; the cash-flow profile is increasingly net-negative. Annual cash flows: $80M in sponsor contributions versus $120M in benefit payments. Investment performance over the most recent year ran 4.4%, against the plan's assumed long-term return of 6.7%.
PBGC risk classification: critical. The plan faces mandatory rehabilitation under PBGC rules; participants should monitor benefit guarantees carefully. Public plans like Judges Retirement System of Illinois 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
Judges Retirement System of Illinois is significantly underfunded at 35%, with $1.8B in unfunded liabilities affecting 3,100 participants. Plans at this funding level face difficult choices: raising contributions substantially, reducing future benefit accruals, or in extreme cases, applying for benefit suspensions. The PBGC has flagged this plan as critical status. Public plans cannot declare bankruptcy, but severe underfunding may lead to reduced cost-of-living adjustments or increased employee contributions. If you are a participant, it is important to understand your options and consider diversifying your retirement income sources.
Year-by-Year Funding
| Year | Assets | Liabilities | Funding Ratio | Contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | $980.0M | $2.8B | 35.2% | $80.0M |
| 2022 | $950.6M | $2.8B | 34.0% | $77.6M |
| 2021 | $921.2M | $2.5B | 37.0% | $75.2M |
| 2020 | $891.8M | $2.9B | 31.0% | $72.8M |
| 2019 | $862.4M | $2.7B | 32.0% | $70.4M |
Frequently Asked Questions
Judges Retirement System of Illinois is 35% funded, meaning it has 35 cents in assets for every dollar in future benefit obligations. This is significantly underfunded and participants should monitor the situation closely.
Judges Retirement System of Illinois has 3,100 total participants, including 950 active employees and 2,150 retirees currently receiving benefits.
Judges Retirement System of Illinois 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.