Charleston Firefighters Pension Fund placed 78th among underfunded Illinois pension systems in FY 2024

The Charleston Firefighters Pension Fund held the 78th position among the state’s most underfunded police and fire pension systems for 2024, the Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI) reported.

This fund, part of Illinois’ City pension fund framework, disclosed total pension liabilities of $40,612,567, with an actuarial asset value totaling $19,541,815.

Its funding ratio stood at 48.1%, citing a shortfall of 51.9% in the assets necessary for fully meeting the promised retirement commitments.

As a result, the gap between resources and obligations left the plan with roughly $21,070,752 in unfunded liabilities.

The Illinois Department of Insurance gathers and provides information on municipal police and fire pension programs, which are funded by the residents of individual municipalities.

In 2024, Illinois maintained 300 fire and 363 police pension plans. Certain cities finance both types, while others fund just one.

Some municipalities do not have any outstanding pension debt. That year, 64 municipalities reported no unpaid police or fire retirement liabilities and were omitted from the list.

Public safety pension duties, sometimes called “pension benefits,” serve as deferred compensation. While municipal officials pledge retirement pay for safety workers, these promises at times are made without guaranteeing sufficient financial support from either employees or local taxpayers. This shortfall leads to growing pension debt for cities, effectively shifting the responsibility onto future residents. Funding comes through annual municipal contributions, generally sourced from property taxes, as tracked by the IDOI.

The average funding ratio for Illinois police and fire pensions reached 65.1% in 2024, underscoring persistent funding issues affecting these local benefits across the state.

Among Illinois pensions, the Glencoe Firefighters Pension Fund was the most underfunded, at only 0.9% of retirement liabilities covered.

Conversely, the Savoy Firefighters Pension Fund was most overfunded, posting a funding ratio of 797.7% and $149,803 in assets in excess of its requirements.

Statewide pension debt for Illinois climbed by $1.5 billion in 2024, totaling $143.7 billion, according to the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. This marked the third straight year the figure has increased and brought it just under the 20-year high of $144.2 billion seen in 2020.

A State Department of Insurance Public Pension Division analysis found that suburban and downstate plans had $12.1 billion in unfunded actuarial liabilities for 2024, with a combined funding ratio of 49.18%. The data indicate these funds held less than half of the needed assets to support promised retirements.

A 2024 study by the Equable Institute showed that Illinois had the largest portion of a state’s GDP committed to unfunded pension liabilities, nearly 20%.

The Illinois Policy Institute, a self-described nonpartisan think tank, said increasing pension shortfalls have heightened taxpayer burdens. According to the group, taxpayer contributions to state-run pensions grew from $614 million in fiscal year 1996 to $11.2 billion in fiscal year 2025.

The data for this story were obtained from the Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI). Full source information is available here.