The General Assembly approved a plan to pay about $4.5 billion into its various pension systems during the upcoming fiscal year using cash instead of borrowing. It's the first time that has happened in two years.
It wasn’t just Democrats who applauded the idea of using cash on hand to fund the pension system. The plan had the support of most Republicans in the Legislature, too.
The state’s unfunded pension liabilities — how much the state has promised to pay employees when they retire minus funds that will be available for pensions — stands at $79 billion, according to a recent report from the University of Illinois’s Institute of Government and Public Affairs.
Giertz said that If the state had made all required payments the system would be close to fully funded, though the state would still be facing financial problems if it borrowed to make those payments.
talk of further changes, including possible changes to current employees’ benefits, though the constitutionality of that has come into question and no legislation has been introduced.
Pensions to be paid without borrowing, first time in two years | Illinois Statehouse News
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