In Illinois, Some School Districts Pick Up Pension Tab for Teachers, Administrators : Report

In Illinois, public school employees contribute 9.4 percent of their paycheck to the pension system.

But according to a recent investigation by the Better Government Association, many school districts pay that contribution for their employees:

State law says most public school employees in Illinois “shall make contributions” toward their future pensions – with 9.4 percent of their salaries deducted for retirement, which otherwise is substantially funded by taxpayers.

But the law has a loophole, allowing public school districts to “pick up the member contributions” if they desire.

A months-long Better Government Association review found many Chicago-area school systems are […] paying the employee pension share as an additional form of compensation for top administrators and, in some cases, teachers.

Of 10 suburban public school districts surveyed by the BGA, all paid the employee pension share for superintendents, amounting to, on average, an extra $22,600 in compensation during the 2013-2014 school year.

[…]

Four of the 10 Chicago-area school systems surveyed by the BGA – Districts 74, 81, 87 and 202 – covered the entire 9.4 percent pension share for their teachers, according to records and interviews. District 212 covered nearly all of that, 9 percent. The other five districts covered none of the employee share.

Read the full investigation here.

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