Chicago Boosts Pension Payments, Only to See Debt Keep Growing
- Junk-rated city’s pension shortfall rose $2 billion in 2018
- It’s paying much more, but still less than actuaries recommend
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Chicago’s debt to its pension funds keeps growing.
Even after the third-biggest U.S. city raised taxes to pump more money into its cash-strapped retirement system, its unfunded obligation to the pensions rose by about $2.1 billion to $30.1 billion in 2018, according to its financial report released Friday. That’s because the $1.2 billion that Chicago paid into its four retirement plans was only about half what actuaries said was needed to catch up with a debt that was built up over decades, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.