Illinois Has Worst Pension Burden In America

It's good to be the best at something. Unless that something is wracking up pension debt. The latest pension report by Fitch Ratings reveals Illinois has the largest pension burden of all 50 states, putting the debt at $151.5 billion. The credit rating agency said the state's unfunded pension liabilities is equal to 22.8 percent of the personal income earned by all Illinois taxpayers last year, compared with the national average of about 3 percent. In Florida — the state with the lowest pension burden — it's 1 percent.

According to Fitch's 2017 state pension report, Illinois' unfunded pension debt is significantly higher than those of New Jersey ($91.8 billion), Massachusetts ($48.9 billion) and Kentucky ($32.8 billion).

Nearly all states — 46, to be exact — saw their unfunded pension burdens increase in 2016.

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