Lakemoor Police Pension Fund places 352nd for pension underfunding in Illinois for 2024

The Lakemoor Police Pension Fund held the 352nd spot among Illinois’ underfunded police and fire pension systems for 2024, based on data from the Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI).

This pension fund, managed under Illinois’ Village or Township pension system, reported that its total pension liabilities reached $6,073,403, while the actuarial funding value stood at $4,225,532.

With a funding ratio of 69.6%, the fund was 30.4% short of the actuarial assets needed to fully satisfy promised retirement benefits.

The resulting unfunded liability for the system was approximately $1,847,871, the difference between available assets and financial obligations.

The Illinois Department of Insurance maintains and reports data for local police and fire pension funds, which rely on support from residents in each community.

As of 2024, there were 300 fire pension and 363 police pension systems across Illinois. Some cities operate both types, while others are responsible for only one.

Not all cities appear on the unfunded pension liability list: in 2024, 64 municipalities reported having no unpaid police or fire pension debt and are not included in these rankings.

Police and fire pension liabilities, often called “pension benefits,” serve as deferred compensation. Municipal governments provide retirement benefits to public safety staff, though some do so with inadequate employee or taxpayer contributions. This shortfall contributes to growing pension debt at the local level, shifting financial responsibilities to future residents. Municipalities fund these obligations by making yearly payments—chiefly through property taxes—outlined in IDOI data.

Statewide, Illinois police and fire pension funds recorded an average funding ratio of 65.1% in 2024, revealing significant shortfalls in public safety retirement system assets.

The Glencoe Firefighters Pension Fund recorded the lowest funding ratio across the state at 0.9% for Illinois.

By contrast, the Savoy Firefighters Pension Fund was the most well-funded, with a funding ratio of 797.7% and an actuarial funding total of $149,803, far above its obligations.

Illinois’ statewide pension debt grew by $1.5 billion in 2024, climbing to $143.7 billion, as reported by the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. This marks the third year in a row that total pension debt has risen and brings the amount just below the 20-year record of $144.2 billion reached in 2020.

Data from the State Department of Insurance Public Pension Division indicates that the state’s suburban and downstate pension systems together carried $12.1 billion in unfunded actuarial liabilities during 2024 and had a combined funding ratio of 49.18%. These systems have less than half the assets needed for all retirement obligations.

In 2024, Illinois accounted for the largest portion of a state’s GDP dedicated to unfunded pension liabilities, approaching 20%, according to a study by the Equable Institute. 

The Illinois Policy Institute, a nonpartisan policy center, states this is creating a heavier taxpayer load. The organization’s data shows taxpayer contributions rose from $614 million during fiscal 1996 to $11.2 billion in fiscal 2025.

Information in this article was sourced from the Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI). The full dataset is available here.