7am News, Sports and Obits
Latest WGIL news
Click to play or
Right click and "Save Target As" to download
Click for Galesburg, Illinois Forecast
Home - Cancellations - Community Events - Contact Us - Mornings - News - Obituaries - Pictures - Programs - Special Events Audio - Sports - Weather
Retired Teachers Hear about Pension Situation
The system that funds the retirements of the state's teachers either will eventually be in trouble, or be in big trouble.

That came out of a town hall meeting the State's Teachers Retirement System held with area teachers and retirees Tuesday at Churchill Junior High School. Executive Director Dick Ingram says while teachers and the system have always paid their fair share of their pensions, the state has not, dating back to the 1970's.

The fund could become insolvent as soon as 2030, or as late as 2039, Ingram says, if something isn't done.

For now, he says, the solution -- which would benefit retirees in the second tier of benefit recipients more than those in the first -- needs to be easy to swallow, and legal.

"We need to fix that, and we need to fix it now before it gets more expensive to do it later," Ingram said. "And then the other key elements are keep it simple, so we can administer it."

"And then any changes have to adhere to the constitutional clause that exists today. It's as simple as that."

Ingram says Governor Pat Quinn's ideas of raising the retiring age and reducing health care benefits won't work.

He says the state needs to fund at the very least 80 to 90 percent of its obligations to make any sort of marked improvement.
05 02 12 by Newsroom
News management powered by Xpression News

Click here for the WGIL News Archive

Click here for national news

The following provision applies to all visitors (which shall include persons and representatives of legal entities, whether such representatives are persons or digital engines of a kind that crawls, indexes, scrapes, copies, stores or transmits digital content). By accessing this Web site or digital service, you specifically acknowledge and agree that: (i) Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium; (ii) No Associated Press materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use; (iii) The Associated Press will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing; (iv) The Associated Press is an intended third party beneficiary of these terms and conditions and it may exercise all rights and remedies available to it; and (v) The Associated Press reserves the right to audit possible unauthorized commercial use of AP materials or any portion thereof at any time.