Marengo Police Pension Fund places 76th among Illinois’ most underfunded systems in 2024

The Marengo Police Pension Fund was ranked 76th in Illinois for underfunded police and fire pension systems in 2024, according to the Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI).

Within Illinois’ City pension system framework, the Marengo fund posted $17,022,277 in total pension liabilities and reported an actuarial funding value of $8,156,466.

This resulted in a funding level of 47.9%, indicating a 52.1% shortfall in the actuarial assets required for all promised retirement benefits.

The gap left the system with unfunded liabilities totaling about $8,865,811.

The Illinois Department of Insurance maintains and publishes local police and fire pension data; these systems are backed financially by each municipality’s residents.

As of 2024, Illinois operated 300 fire and 363 police pension funds, with some municipalities administering both types and others supporting only one.

There are municipalities without pension debt. In 2024, 64 municipalities reported zero police or fire pension liabilities and were thus excluded from the list.

Referred to as “pension benefits,” police and fire pension obligations act as deferred compensation for public safety staff. Local officials pledge to provide these retirement payouts but may underfund contributions from workers or the community, causing pension debts to rise and financial responsibility to shift toward future residents. These funds rely on yearly contributions, largely generated through property taxes, as detailed in IDOI’s data collection.

On average, police and fire pension funds across Illinois had a 65.1% funding ratio in 2024, underscoring the funding deficits affecting many local public safety retirement programs.

The Glencoe Firefighters Pension Fund recorded the lowest coverage, with a funding rate of 0.9%.

On the other hand, the Savoy Firefighters Pension Fund was the best funded, showing a 797.7% funding ratio and $149,803 in actuarial funding value—far surpassing its liabilities.

Illinois’ total state pension debt increased by $1.5 billion in 2024, reaching $143.7 billion based on a report from the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. This marks the third continuous year of rising debt, putting the current total just below the 20-year peak of $144.2 billion seen in 2020.

The State Department of Insurance Public Pension Division found suburban and downstate Illinois pension funds faced $12.1 billion in unfunded actuarial liabilities in 2024, with a combined funding ratio of 49.18%, indicating assets covered less than half of future benefit promises.

In 2024, Illinois devoted the highest share of state GDP to unfunded pension liabilities, close to 20%, according to analysis from the Equable Institute. 

The Illinois Policy Institute, describing itself as a nonpartisan think tank, said this trend is creating an increasing burden for taxpayers. The group noted taxpayer payments to state pension programs grew from $614 million in fiscal year 1996 to $11.2 billion projected for fiscal year 2025.

Data for this report comes from the Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI). You can find the source material here.