Woodstock Fire/Rescue District Firefighters’ Pension ranked 581 out of Illinois’ most underfunded police and fire pension plans in 2024

In 2024, the Woodstock Fire/Rescue District Firefighters’ Pension placed 581st among the most underfunded police and fire pension systems statewide, according to the Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI).

Operating within Illinois’ City pension framework, the fund reported total pension liabilities of $24,596,911 and an actuarial funding value of $24,029,795.

This puts the fund’s funding ratio at 97.7%, signifying a shortfall of 2.3% in the assets required to fully finance promised retirement payments.

The resulting gap between assets and liabilities left the pension fund with about $567,116 in unfunded responsibility.

The Illinois Department of Insurance compiles and publishes information on local police and fire pensions, systems for which residents of each municipality are financially responsible.

As of 2024, there were 300 fire and 363 police pension funds across Illinois. Some cities oversee both pension types, while others provide only one.

Not every municipality reports unfunded pension debt. In 2024, 64 municipalities showed zero police or fire pension liability and did not appear in these rankings.

Obligations for police and firefighter pensions, often called “pension benefits,” are a form of deferred compensation. Many city officials agree to support public safety workers’ retirements but at times do so without ensuring there are enough contributions from employees or local taxpayers. This underfunding creates ongoing pension debt for the municipality, which future residents will be responsible for. To fund pension systems, officials make regular annual payments which are chiefly financed through property taxes, as detailed by IDOI figures.

Statewide in Illinois, the average funding ratio for police and fire pension plans was 65.1% in 2024, pointing to widespread funding deficiencies among local retirement benefits for public safety workers.

The Glencoe Firefighters Pension Fund held the lowest funding level in the state at just 0.9%.

Conversely, Savoy Firefighters Pension Fund led all systems with a 797.7% funded ratio and an actuarial value of $149,803, far surpassing its anticipated liabilities.

Illinois’ total pension debt climbed by $1.5 billion in 2024 to $143.7 billion, according to the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability. This was the third straight year of growth, putting the total just under the $144.2 billion twenty-year high seen in 2020.

The State Department of Insurance’s Public Pension Division showed in a recent report that suburban and downstate pension plans in Illinois had $12.1 billion in unfunded actuarial liabilities in 2024 and a collective funding level of 49.18%. These numbers indicate these systems held less than half of the assets needed to meet future benefit commitments.

A 2024 study by the Equable Institute found that Illinois had the highest proportion of its GDP tied up in unfunded pension liabilities at nearly 20%.

The Illinois Policy Institute, which is a nonpartisan policy think tank, said this trend is increasing the tax load on Illinois residents. The organization reports taxpayer support for state pension plans grew from $614 million in fiscal year 1996 to $11.2 billion for fiscal year 2025.

Details in this story were provided by the Illinois Department of Insurance (IDOI). Access the source data here.