Illinois Government Pension Debt Equals 56K Per Household
Most people are aware of how the Illinois government pension system is underfunded, contributing to Illinois’ billions of debt. Springfield politicians like to use accounting tricks to try to hide the truth about the amount of debt.
The actual amount of the unfunded debt for government worker pensions that Illinois households are on the hook for may surprise you.
According to Illinois Policy, every Illinois household can expect to pay more than $56,000 in additional future taxes to pare down that debt.
Here is the original story as reported by Illinois Policy:
In 2010, the unfunded debt related to pensions and retiree health care costs for local and state government workers across Illinois was $203 billion, the equivalent of more than $43,000 per household. In just six years, the total debt Illinois households are on the hook for has jumped to $56,000, or 31 percent. That’s a $13,000 increase for each household. Total unfunded debt for state and local governments in Illinois now totals $267 billion.
Government worker pensions have been driving up Illinoisans’ tax bills for decades. As a result, Illinoisans now pay the nation’s highest combined local and state taxes, according to a March 14 report by WalletHub.
Unfortunately, Illinoisans shouldn’t expect that burden to lessen any time soon. New government data show that Illinois’ unfunded government worker retirement debt has reached a record $267 billion, up from $203 billion in 2010.
This means each Illinois household can expect to pay more than $56,000 in additional future taxes to pare down that debt.
The debt includes nearly $190 billion in state and local pension shortfalls, as well as more than $56 billion in unfunded health insurance benefits for retired state workers.
In 2012, the Illinois Policy Institute added up all the unfunded debt related to pensions and retiree health care costs for local and state government workers across Illinois. The total then – based largely on 2010 government reports – was $203 billion, the equivalent of more than $43,000 per household.
In just six years, the total debt Illinois households are on the hook for has jumped to $56,000, or 31 percent. That’s a $13,000 increase for each household.
This story originally appeared on Illinois Policy on March 23, 2017, and was written by Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner
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