Chicago Ridge Police Pension Fund placed 275th for underfunding among Illinois police and fire pensions in 2024

In 2024, the Chicago Ridge Police Pension Fund ranked 275th among Illinois police and fire pension systems for underfunding, the Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI) reported.

This fund, which falls under the Village or Township pension framework in Illinois, listed total pension liabilities of $54,951,417 and an actuarial funding value of $35,132,823.

The resulting funding ratio was 63.9%, meaning the fund was short by 36.1% of the actuarial assets necessary to meet its pension obligations.

As a result, the difference between the fund’s obligations and assets generated an unfunded liability of about $19,818,594.

The Illinois Department of Insurance compiles and shares local police and fire pension data—these systems are funded by residents of their communities.

As of 2024, the state had 300 fire and 363 police-related pension plans. Some cities support both, while others administer just one.

Some cities have no unfunded pension liabilities. For 2024, there were 64 municipalities without outstanding police or fire pension debt, so they were not listed in these rankings.

Known as “pension benefits,” police and fire pension obligations serve as deferred earnings. While local leaders pledge retirement payments to public safety staff, these commitments are sometimes made without ensuring full contributions from staff or taxpayers. This funding shortfall results in pension debt, which communities may pass down to future residents. To keep pension funds stable, cities make annual payments—primarily through property taxes—reflected in the IDOI’s data.

A 65.1% average funding ratio was seen among police and fire pensions statewide in 2024, demonstrating the ongoing deficiencies across local retirement plans for public safety workers in Illinois.

The Glencoe Firefighters Pension Fund was the least funded system that year, with a ratio measuring just 0.9%.

The Savoy Firefighters Pension Fund was the healthiest, reporting a 797.7% funding ratio and an actuarial value of $149,803—well over its pension liabilities.

Pension debt statewide rose by $1.5 billion in 2024 to hit $143.7 billion, according to data from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. This was the third straight annual increase, putting total debt just below the 20-year high of $144.2 billion recorded in 2020.

Separate analysis by the State Department of Insurance Public Pension Division indicates Illinois’ suburban and downstate pension funds reported $12.1 billion in unfunded actuarial debt in 2024 and maintained a collective funding ratio of 49.18%, meaning less than half the assets needed to fully pay out earned pension benefits.

A study from the Equable Institute found that, in 2024, Illinois dedicated the largest share of its state GDP to unfunded pension liabilities, amounting to almost 20%.

Analysis from the Illinois Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, linked this trend to an increasing taxpayer responsibility. They report taxpayer pension payments jumped from $614 million in fiscal year 1996 to $11.2 billion for fiscal 2025.

Information in this article was sourced from the Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI). Source data is available here.