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The county has budgeted $491 million for pensions in 2023. Of that, $291 million is a supplemental payment the county has made for several years to prop up the pension fund’s lagging funded ratio. If those extra payments continue, finance officials estimate the fund will have 100% of the money it needs to pay out benefits by 2043. Without those extra payments it’s slated to be insolvent by 2055.
Summary and audio linked here.
Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
Full interview and summary linked here.
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Hmm, if CC has money to pay pensions until 2043 then they need to give the Social Security Administration and Medicare a few pointers.
Something tells me that CC pensions will default long before 2043.
Plenty of money for many years to come. Even without extra payments the estimate is 2055 for insolvency. What analysis or article/study can you point to that shows insolvency at an earlier date? “The county has budgeted $491 million for pensions in 2023. Of that, $291 million is a supplemental payment the county has made for several years to prop up the pension fund’s lagging funded ratio. If those extra payments continue, finance officials estimate the fund will have 100% of the money it needs to pay out benefits by 2043. Without those extra payments — made annually through an… Read more »
PPF-Did CC account for the recent downturn in their investment portfolio? ESG investing has cost them at least a several percent and bond prices are even worse then stocks. Did they account for, in these calculations,Tyson, Citadel, Boeing etc fleeing the state? How much does it now cost to refinance their debt.. the game is over. R’S are going to control Congress and the real pain in the debt and deficit markets is just starting. I agree pensions are a promise but reasonable negotiations have to be held, and the pension games/ loop holes ( played by a too many)… Read more »
“A superintendent doesnt need 400k to retire.” Then don’t offer them a pension that does just that. “R’S are going to control Congress and the real pain in the debt and deficit markets is just starting.” R’s have shown no desire to tighten the credit markets in the past or hinted at that in the future. What exactly will a Republican controlled congress do to cause a debt crisis in Illinois and other states? That would be a good way to lose the majority. Did Tyson, Citadel, and Boeing cause tax revenue in the state or county to decline? Tax… Read more »
No one “offered” a simple pension for 400k but with the loopholes, the final pension payout amounts to an exorbitant amount. The pensions laws and loophole were written years ago and need to be changed so that we can keep the ability to afford attracting talented and caring teachers going forward. Can you agree with that? R’s will not send billions to states and give bailouts like D’s did. Both parties have a spending problem, it’s just depends upon which party has power to get the funds Inflation is high and the Fed is raising rates. People and states that… Read more »
“No one “offered” a simple pension for 400k” They were offered a pension based on formula. Has nothing to do with loopholes. What loophole has caused this? “R’s will not send billions to states and give bailouts like D’s did. Both parties have a spending problem, it’s just depends upon which party has power to get the funds” Don’t need it with the current rate of tax revenue being collected within Illinois and the rest of the country. Sometime in the future more bailouts may happen but not anytime soon. “Tax Revenue will fall dramatically during the upcoming recession. Illinois… Read more »
I am sure I will be dead by 2055. Maybe by 2043 I will see that insolvency is on the path forward, because it looks that way today. I feel bad for all those county workers (applies to state and local workers) counting on a pension. Get out and vote!
Crooked/Corrupt/Race Hustling Cook County Democrat Boss Toni Preckwinkle Is Spending Tax Dollars On Illegal, Unconstitutional Race Based Giveaway Programs
So the bottom line is cc still has $100s of millions in fed covid $bucks$ to dish out for years. one would assume city & state are in same situation? or maybe it will all be gobbled up by inflation/recession?–“Of the roughly $1 billion in American Rescue Plan Act money, the county allocated about $25 million in 2021 and $320 million in 2022, and plans to spend $270 million in 2023. The county estimates it will still have $300 million to spend between 2024 and 2026.”