BYTHE BETTER GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION April 29, 2011
At the end of fiscal 2010, the General Assembly Retirement System was only 26 percent funded with $66.2 million in assets and $251.8 million in liabilities.
Zettler obtained the pension data under the Freedom of Information Act, and provided it to the BGA, which confirmed the data.
GARS plan participants contribute up to 11.5% of their pay annually and their retirement payouts depend on the total number of years served. For example, those with 20 years of service can collect up to 85% of their final salary for their remaining lifetime. Moreover, if a participant retires at age 60 or older, that person gets a 3 percent pension increase every year.
Leading the GARS list of annual pensions is former state Sen. Arthur Berman, who collects $203,428 annually, according to the data, which is as of March 7.
The Chicago Democrat retired from the General Assembly in 2000 with a salary of $59,657. But he later took a higher-paid position with Chicago Public Schools and his pension was determined based on the higher salary under a reciprocal state-pension system agreement that ended in 1994.
Click on the following for more details: http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/5076845-418/100000-pensions-for-27-retired-state-pols.html
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