Decatur Police Pension Fund places 240th for underfunding among Illinois pension systems in 2024

For 2024, the Decatur Police Pension Fund was ranked 240th among Illinois’ most underfunded police and fire pension systems, according to data from the Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI).

The fund, part of the City of Decatur’s pension system, reported total liabilities of $233,015,326 and an actuarial funding value totaling $143,721,653.

That calculates to a funding ratio of 61.7%, indicating that the fund was short 38.3% of the assets needed to meet promised retirement benefits.

The gap between assets and obligations resulted in an unfunded liability of about $89,293,673 for the pension fund.

The Illinois Department of Insurance tracks and publishes reports on local police and fire pension funds, which are financed by residents in each municipality.

As of 2024, Illinois maintained 300 fire and 363 police pension funds. Some cities or towns support both, while others fund only one.

Sixty-four municipalities reported no unfunded police or fire pension debt in 2024 and were therefore omitted from the ranking.

Pension obligations for police and fire personnel, often termed “pension benefits,” serve as a form of deferred income. While municipal governments promise to provide these benefits to public safety employees, they sometimes fall short in collecting sufficient contributions from workers and taxpayers, creating a funding shortfall. This leads to rising pension debt, shifting responsibility to future residents. Municipalities pay into pension systems each year, mainly using revenue from property taxes, as reflected in IDOI data.

Statewide, Illinois police and fire pension funds held an average funding ratio of 65.1% for 2024, underscoring broad underfunding concerns across local public safety pensions.

The Glencoe Firefighters Pension Fund had the lowest statewide funding ratio at only 0.9%.

In contrast, the best-funded pension system was Savoy Firefighters Pension Fund, posting a 797.7% funding ratio and an actuarial value of $149,803, which far surpassed its liabilities.

Illinois’ total pension debt grew by $1.5 billion in 2024, reaching $143.7 billion, based on a report by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. This was the third straight year of growth, nearly matching the 20-year high of $144.2 billion recorded in 2020.

The State Department of Insurance Public Pension Division also reported that suburban and downstate pension funds in Illinois posted $12.1 billion in unfunded actuarial liabilities for 2024, with a collective funding ratio of 49.18%. More than half the assets needed for benefits were lacking, according to the report.

For 2024, Illinois dedicated the highest proportion of state GDP to unfunded pension liabilities, nearing 20%, according to analysis by the Equable Institute.

The Illinois Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research group, maintains that this is increasing the financial strain on taxpayers. It noted taxpayer contributions to state pensions rose from $614 million in fiscal 1996 to $11.2 billion in fiscal 2025.

Information for this article was sourced from the Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI). The official data can be accessed here.