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 The Cook County Pension Board
appeared before Cook County commissioners Nov. 14 and shared the dire news: As
soon as 2019, the Cook County pension fund will have more annuitants than active
employees.
This new data point to a problem that continues to grow and will put a massive
strain on the county budget. In the last year, the employer contributions to the
Cook County pension fund (taxpayers’ share) has jumped from $190 million in 2015
to over $467 million, a more than 145 percent increase.
That massive inflow of cash brought about a mere 1 percent increase in the
funding ratio.
 Cook County’s predicament underscores the fact that politicians shouldn’t be in
the retirement business, and that the fundamentally flawed pension system cannot
be bailed out on the backs of taxpayers.
Due to poor fiscal management, growing payroll and generous benefits, all
parties are heading toward impending disaster. This is unfair to the workers who
were given promises that could never be fully delivered. And it’s unfair to
taxpayers who are expected to make up the difference as their own incomes
stagnate.
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Cook County taxpayers struggle with the one of the highest overall
tax burdens in the country, including some of the highest property
and sales taxes in the nation. Cook County board members should take
the initiative in exercising fiscal restraint and cutting the cost
of government.
One solution is sitting right under their noses – 401(k)-style
retirement plans for new county workers. A standalone 401(k)-style
retirement plan for state university workers has been operating
successfully in Illinois for nearly two decades, with more than
20,000 members.
If such a system had been implemented earlier, Cook County retirees
outnumbering active workers would not be a threat to the solvency of
worker retirements.
Until Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle gets serious
about addressing payroll growth and introducing real pension reform,
she should not shirk responsibility for the county’s budget woes.
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