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Chicago City Wire

Friday, May 3, 2024

Analysis: Laborers' & Retirement Board Employees' A&B Fund would go bankrupt in five years without taxpayer subsidy

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Without members and taxpayers subsidizing its revenue, the Laborers' & Retirement Board Employees' A&B Fund would have lost $238,551,695 in 2018, according to a Chicago City Wire analysis of the latest data reported to the Illinois Department of Insurance Pension Division.

The fund has $1,141,330,996 in total assets. If the fund’s annual losses stay the same, it would run out of money in five years without these subsidies.

The fund lost $66,670,884 in investment income and other revenue in 2018. At the same time, it paid out $171,880,811 in expenses, according to the 2019 biennial report detailing the health of each of the state’s pension funds and retirement systems. The difference between the two shows the fund’s annual loss without subsidies.

Taxpayers added $47,844,184 to the fund’s revenue last year – an amount that has increased from $14,520,515 five years ago. Members contributed an additional $17,836,801 – $1,477,719 more than five years ago.

In all, subsidies amounted to $65,680,985 in 2018.

Laborers' & Retirement Board Employees' A&B Fund non-subsidy revenue over five years
YearTotal non-subsidy revenueTotal expensesOutcome without subsidies
2018-$66,670,884$171,880,811-$238,551,695
2017$216,444,009$169,497,600$46,946,409
2016$66,861,373$169,467,302-$102,605,929
2015-$12,338,079$168,508,356-$180,846,435
2014$63,698,387$164,157,702-$100,459,315

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