Great summary of the public pension issue.
Two sides of Illinois’ pension systems need to be fixed to bring the state out of its retirement funding quagmire: the benefits, which some say are overly generous, and the funding, which is $78 billion in the red.
The first half got a boost last month when Gov. Pat Quinn signed changes applying to most — but not all — of the pension systems in Illinois. But the second, and more urgent, half of reform remains untouched.
The law creates a second pension tier for public workers hired after Jan. 1, 2011. The second tier increases the retirement age from 60 to 67, caps the final salary used to calculate pension payments and trims the annual pension increase to be more in line with inflation.
The constitutional issue
… But a short piece of text called Article 13, Section 5 of the Illinois Constitution is standing in their way.
It’s brief: “Membership in any pension or retirement system of the state, any unit of local government or school district, or any agency or instrumentality thereof, shall be an enforceable contractual relationship, the benefits of which shall not be diminished or impaired.”
Click on the following for more details: Pension changes face series of hurdles - Springfield, IL - The State Journal-Register
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