Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has signed a measure to consolidate 649 distinct public pension funds into two statewide funds as part of an initiative to source better investment opportunities.
Roughly 650 of Illinois’ pension plans are suburban and downstate police and fire plans — the second-highest number of pension plans of any state in the country — most of which face headwinds in large part caused by the relatively small size of each plan, according to an October report to the governor, outlining the Illinois Pension Consolidation Feasibility Task Force. Because many are so small, they are unable to gain access to investment opportunities that provide the highest returns and competitive investment fees. Collectively these pension plans today earn significantly lower investment returns than larger pension plans.
According to the report, the sheer number of plans negatively impacts the funding level of police and fire plans, while burdening taxpayers to make up
