Illinois General Assembly Retirement System
| Illinois General Assembly Retirement System | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Springfield, Illinois |
| Top official: | Senator Robert Martwick, chairperson |
| Year founded: | 1947 |
| Active members: | 124 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Total assets under management | |
| 2023: | $85,837,515 |
- See also: Public pensions in Illinois
The Illinois General Assembly Retirement System (GARS) is a Illinois state pension fund that provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits to the members of the Illinois General Assembly, certain elected state officials, and their beneficiaries. GARS had $85,837,515 ($85.8 million) in total assets under management as of June 30, 2023.[1][2]
The management of public pension funds can indicate support or opposition to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investment practices. ESG investing considers the extent to which corporations align with and promote certain non-financial standards, such as net carbon emission or corporate board diversity goals. States typically hire asset management companies (AMCs) to direct pension plan investments, some of which have ESG commitments that guide their strategies.
This article features the following sections:
- Background: Information about the structure and functions of GARS.
- Pension performance overview: Overview of the funding level and assets managed by GARS.
- Assets and asset management: Information about the asset management companies (AMCs) that contract with GARS, including a list of contracting AMCs that are participants in the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative and the Climate Action 100+ initiative.
- Governance and accountability: Details about GARS's oversight board, including members and selection.
Background
- See also: Public pensions
The Illinois General Assembly Retirement System (GARS), founded in 1947, invests the assets of and provides funding for members of the Illinois General Assembly, certain elected state officials, and their beneficiaries. GARS operates as a defined benefit plan that comprises two tiers: tier one serves those who enrolled in GARS before January 1, 2011, and tier two serves those who enrolled after January 1, 2011.[3][4]
GARS served over 124 active members and approximately 441 retirees and beneficiaries as of June 30, 2023.[3][1]
Pension performance overview
The following table features information about the funding level and assets managed by the Illinois General Assembly Retirement System as of June 30, 2023:[1]
| Illinois General Assembly Retirement System pension performance (June 30, 2023) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiscal year | Percent funded | Unfunded liabilities | Total assets[5] |
| 2023 | 23.47% | $279,856,411 | $85,837,515 |
Assets and asset management
| Environmental, social, and corporate governance |
|---|
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| • What is ESG? • Enacted ESG legislation • Arguments for and against ESG • Opposition to ESG • Federal ESG rules • ESG legislation tracker • Economy and Society: Ballotpedia's weekly ESG newsletter |
Asset management companies (AMCs) are hired to manage asset investment for state pension funds across all 50 states.
As of October 2024, 330 AMCs were members of the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAM), and 391 AMCs were investor participants in the Climate Action 100+ initiative. Both international asset manager initiatives aimed to align the investment decisions of signatories with the goal of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.[6][7]
NZAM announced on January 13, 2025, that it was suspending operations and removing the commitment statement and list of signatories from its website. The group said in a statement it would reevaluate its plans and operations in light of “[r]ecent developments in the U.S. and different regulatory and client expectations in investors’ respective jurisdictions.”[8]
List of AMCs contracting with the Illinois General Assembly Retirement System
Research regarding AMCs contracting with Illinois General Assembly Retirement System (GARS) is pending.
Governance and accountability
This section features information about the seven-member board of trustees that oversees the Illinois General Assembly Retirement System (GARS). The board is specific to oversight of GARS and does not exercise oversight duties for other state funds. The Illinois State Board of Investment provides additional oversight to GARS, among other state retirement systems.[9][10]
Board selection method
The board of trustees that oversees GARS is made up of seven members, all required by law to be participants in the retirement system. Three are members of the Illinois Senate appointed by the president; three are members of the Illinois House of Representatives appointed by the speaker; and one is a plan member elected by the plan’s annuitants.[9]
Board of trustees membership
A seven-member board of trustees oversees the operation and administration of GARS. The following individuals served on the board as of June 2024:[9]
- Senator Robert Martwick, chairperson
- Representative Norine Hammond, vice chairperson
- Senator Napoleon Harris III
- Representative Barbara Hernandez
- Representative Tom Ryder
- Senator Chapin Rose
- Representative Kam Buckner
See also
- Public pensions in Illinois
- Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
- Arguments about environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
- Opposition to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) investing
- Reform proposals related to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
- State legislative approaches opposing ESG investing
- State legislative approaches supporting ESG investing
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Illinois State Retirement System, “General Assembly Retirement System of Illinois Annual Actuarial Valuation as of June 30, 2023,” June 25, 2024
- ↑ Illinois General Assembly, “Illinois Pension Code,” June 25, 2024
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Illinois State Retirement Systems, “Your Rights & Responsibilities, Member Handbook Tier 1,” June 25, 2024
- ↑ Illinois Retirement Systems, “General Assembly Retirement System, State of Illinois, Annual Financial Report for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 2021,” June 26, 2024
- ↑ Note: By default, this refers to the actuarial valuation of total assets. In some cases, the total market value of assets is shown instead. See the cited source for details.
- ↑ The Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, "The Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative," accessed January 26, 2023
- ↑ Climate Action 100+, "The Three Goals," accessed June 20, 2023
- ↑ Pensions and Investments, "Net Zero Asset Managers initiative to suspend activities in wake of BlackRock departure," accessed January 15, 2024
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Illinois General Assembly, “Illinois Pension Code,” June 26, 2024
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Investment, “Board,” June 20, 2024
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