Illinois is a broke state and their teacher pension fund does not make things any easier on how it is contractually written. Yes, it is a contract and the state is honoring the pension as of right now. In the spirit of “States Rights” the voters of Illinois find their financial situation very pallable no matter the current conditions or what they will be facing as the physics of economics plays out. This blog is not making fun of Illinois but it also will not give pity to the residents when debt hell hits.

The Washington Times had a long article showing the ramifacations of this current penson plan that they operate on. I will post the key financial highlights of it while you can read the rest in the embedded link.

About 6,000 retired educators collecting more than $100,000

More than 100,000 retired Illinois educators had been paid back what they invested into the system just 20 months after leaving work

The pension is about $54 billion underfunded

The teacher pension’s 3 percent annual increases aren’t tied to inflation — meaning they cannot fluctuate up or down depending on the economy or budget pressures.

Illinois public sector workers will receive, on average, a $1,906 annual cost of living adjustment this year — nine times more than the average Social Security beneficiary