#558 Online: Chicago's Pension Challenge: Understanding Why the Pension Funds are Underfunded

For years Chicago’s public pension funds have garnered headlines about their dismal funding levels. But what does it mean for a pension fund to be deemed “underfunded”? Moreover, how did Chicago get into this situation? This presentation focuses on the funding history of Chicago’s four public pension funds and why their low levels of funding are a thorny problem. It also discusses state laws that went into effect in 2016 and 2017 that are meant to resolve the underfunding problem in the long-term.

Amanda Kass is an Assistant Professor at the School of School of Public Service at DePaul University. Her research concerns public finance (with a subspecialty in public pensions), housing markets, urban governance, and financialization. She has been researching Illinois’ public pension funds since 2011.