From the Illinois Policy Institute:
Illinois Speaker Michael Madigan’s pension proposal (House Amendment #1 to Senate Bill 1) perpetuates Illinois’ crisis. The plan locks in the unmanageable defined benefit plan, guarantees the crowd out of core government services and continues the irresponsible pension payment ramp.
Madigan’s plan keeps politicians in control of state employee pensions. By failing to get rid of defined benefit plans, it keeps taxpayers on the hook for bailouts of a broken retirement system.
Worst of all, it creates a new guarantee obligation that prioritizes pension funding above the education of school children, providing health care for the poor and the provision of public safety for neighborhoods across the state.
Ultimately, the plan fails to provide what Illinois so desperately needs: comprehensive pension reform that ends the state’s pension crisis.
Plan punts on reform and straps taxpayers with guarantee
- Maintains current defined benefit system: The plan maintains the unmanageable defined benefit pension system, failing to address the root cause of Illinois’ pension crisis.
- Doesn’t include a defined contribution component: The proposal fails to introduce 401(k)-style retirement plans for government workers. This robs individuals from having the freedom to control their own retirement savings.
