Swansea Firefighters Pension Fund places 625th in Illinois underfunding rankings for fiscal year 2024

In 2024, the Swansea Firefighters Pension Fund was placed 625th among underfunded police and fire pension systems statewide, the Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI) reports.

Within Illinois’ Village or Township pension system framework, this fund reported pension liabilities totaling $1,468,274 and an actuarial asset value of $1,735,930.

This results in a funding ratio of 118.2%. The fund had -18.2% less in actuarial assets than necessary to fully fund promised benefits.

This shortfall produced an unfunded liability of roughly -$267,656 for the pension system.

The Illinois Department of Insurance compiles and shares local police and fire pension data, representing systems financially supported by residents of their respective municipalities.

As of 2024, Illinois was home to 300 fire and 363 police pension funds. Certain municipalities maintain both systems, while others support only one.

Sixty-four municipalities disclosed no outstanding police or fire pension debt in 2024, thus were not included in these rankings.

Pension liabilities for police and fire personnel, commonly referred to as “pension benefits,” function as deferred income. While municipal officials commit to retirement benefits for public safety staff, they sometimes forgo ensuring full contributions from workers or taxpayers. This creates unfunded pension obligations, leaving future community members responsible for these costs. Municipalities use property tax revenue for annual contributions to these systems, and this funding is reflected in data from the IDOI.

The average funding ratio in Illinois for these police and fire funds was 65.1% during 2024, underscoring prevalent gaps in local public safety pension funding.

The police or fire fund with the lowest funding level statewide was the Glencoe Firefighters Pension Fund, with a funding ratio of only 0.9%.

By contrast, the Savoy Firefighters Pension Fund was the best funded, at a 797.7% funding ratio and $149,803 in actuarial value, far surpassing required liabilities.

The state’s total pension debt rose $1.5 billion in 2024, climbing to $143.7 billion, per the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. This marks the third straight year of increases and sits just below the two-decade high of $144.2 billion reached in 2020.

According to the State Department of Insurance Public Pension Division, Illinois’ suburban and downstate pension systems held $12.1 billion in unfunded actuarial liabilities in 2024, with a combined funding level of 49.18%. That means they possessed less than half the necessary assets for promised benefits.

In 2024, Illinois carried the nation’s highest portfolio of unfunded pension liabilities as a percentage of gross domestic product, approaching 20%, a study by the Equable Institute found. 

The Illinois Policy Institute, a nonpartisan organization, points to this increasing burden on taxpayers. According to the institute, taxpayer contributions for state pensions moved upward from $614 million in fiscal year 1996 to $11.2 billion in fiscal year 2025.

The data in this article was obtained through the Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI). Access the source material here.