Chambana Sun

In a June 27 Facebook post, Rep. Adam Niemerg (R-Teutopolis) shared information on the S&P Global Ratings' report on Illinois' pension funds.

"S&P says Illinois’ 'poorly funded' pensions will continue to stress state and local government budgets as the state sees 'weak demographic trends' and 'shrinking population,'" Niemerg posted.

In his Facebook post, Niemerg shared a link to an article published by The Center Square on June 26. The article focused on the S&P Global Ratings' “Pension Spotlight: Illinois,” which was published last week. The article notes that the state’s “poorly funded” pensions will be problematic for years.

“All of the five state-sponsored plans are poorly funded, and contributions need to increase before meaningful funding progress is made,” the S&P report said. 

Those five plans are: General Assembly Retirement System (GARS), Judges’ Retirement System (JRS), State Employees' Retirement System (SERS), State Universities Retirement System (SURS), and the Teachers' Retirement System (TRS).

The report takes into consideration the state’s contributions to a pension stabilization fund in addition to the state-sponsored plans and the upcoming supplemental payment in the next fiscal year budget, but said that those still fall short. Another issue is that the state’s unfunded liability amortization isn’t keeping pace with the assumptions of what will happen with wage growth.

The state has implemented cost savings with a new benefit tier created in 2010, but the report said it’s not doing enough, especially with the rising costs of taxpayer subsidized healthcare, which isn’t something the state has set aside funding to deal with.

Niemerg has served in the Illinois General Assembly since January 2021 and lives in Dieterich, with his wife and children. When he’s not in Springfield, Niemerg is a senior claims adjuster with Country Financial, and is a member of the Farm Bureau.