Kane County Reporter

Whether teachers are seeing any benefits from their retirement savings was the question on the mind of Sen. Don DeWitte (R-St. Charles) who brought up the question at the Senate Appropriations Personnel and Procurement Committee hearing on the Fiscal Year 2023 budget.

DeWitte asked Teachers' Retirement System Board of Trustees Executive Director Stan Rupnik whether they had reached a balance of tier one and tier two members.

“We’re a little behind that,” Rupnik said. “Tier one is about two-thirds (with) 105,000 members for tier one and 54,000 in tier two, but gaining momentum.”

“So, you haven't seen any benefit from the reduced benefits coming out of the tier two side of the equation?” DeWitte asked.

“Probably not as much as we will see in the coming years,” Rupnik said. “We’re a few years away from where the 50/50 kicks in.”

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s state budget totals $112.5 billion with $45.5 billion to be taken from the state’s general revenue fund and federal funds accounting for the rest, according to Patch.

The budget consists largely of public employee pensions, according to the news organization.

“A major cost in every budget is public employee pensions,” Patch reported. “The administration will propose fully funding the required contribution of $9.6 billion with an additional $500 million infusion. Administration officials say that will reduce the unfunded liability by $1.8 billion. The state's unfunded pension liability is around $140 billion.”

Gov. Pritzker said during his State of the State address that budgeting would be a collaborative effort that focuses on the state’s problems.

“Budgeting will not be done any more by taking the state hostage, or by court orders, consent decrees and continuing appropriations but instead by debate and compromise and a return to regular order,” he said. “We will work together earnestly to solve the state’s problems. We will disagree at times on important things, but the work we all came here to do will get done.”