SUPPORT
SENATE BILL 1937 

We Are One Illinois just filed SB 1937, amended legislation that makes real progress to ensure public employees on Tier 2 can receive a more fair and decent pension while also strengthening the state’s finances for the long term.

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We believe our satisfies the governor’s fiscal requirements to fix Tier 2 pensions: it will not add to the state’s unfunded pension liability, nor negatively impact the state’s credit ratings, nor require significant additional funding from the state budget this year or in the near future. We wrote to the governor updating him on our Tier 2 progress and asking him to stand with us in supporting this legislation.

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SB 1937 addresses the four core areas where Tier 2 benefits have fallen short for public employees, including:

• Improving the final average salary calculation

• Lowering the retirement age

• Improving the cost of living adjustment

• Increasing the Social Security Wage base to address the so-called “Safe Harbor” problem​

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In short, this proposal can put us on a path to improve the inadequate and insufficient Tier 2 pensions for public employees while also addressing our state’s decades-long pension funding problems – and without damaging our current budgetary situation.

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