Top-rated Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Encourages Workers to "Save" Themselves During National Retirement Security Week

OAK BROOK, Ill., Oct. 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Look! Up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane, it's a leading pension plan, encouraging people to plan and save for retirement. The Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF), the state's second-largest and best-funded statewide public pension plan, is alerting citizens from Metropolis to Wauconda, to be their own heroes during National Retirement Security Week, October 21-27, 2018.

This year's theme, Take Action, focuses on ensuring that workers are taking progressive steps towards retirement. Nationally, personal savings numbers are low, as nearly half of working American households have no retirement savings, and the median retirement account balance is only $2,500 for all working-age households, according to the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS). Even as the baby-boom generation approaches retirement, participation in pension plans has declined since the Financial Crisis of 2008.

Observed annually during the third full week of October, this initiative originally launched in 2006 as "National Save for Retirement Week." This period "provides an opportunity for employees to reflect on their personal retirement goals and determine if they are on target to reach those goals," according to the International City/County Management Association (ICMA).

Continuing to fight for 100 percent funding, financial security for public workers, and growing economies across the state, IMRF wants to remind active members and other working adults in Illinois that today's action steps will help to secure tomorrow's future. "Make no assumptions when it comes to your retirement process. As we go about our daily routines of work and taking care of the kids, and our households, it's easy to put long-term planning on the back burner," IMRF Executive Director Brian Collins said. "However, we are encouraging our members and everyone in the state to take action now because it's your future, and it matters."

Independently managed and run, IMRF closed 2017 with $41.4 billion in assets, placing it in the fifth percentile of plans, in terms of holdings, nationwide. As a long-term, prudent investor with a diversified portfolio, IMRF serves more than 420,000 active members, inactive members and retirees.

Yes, it is a great responsibility and IMRF is dedicated to guiding employees, employer partners, and retirees through the retirement process and the changes that come with moving to a post-employment way of life. Our hard-working teams assist members with pre-retirement information through Personal Benefits Reviews and workshops throughout the year. Member Services collaborates with professionals to offer annual financial literacy workshops to retirees statewide. The IMRF website also features digital account access and online calculators with unlimited input options to help create customized pension estimates.

Find more NRSW resources by following this link. For more information about our services, and for interviews with Collins about the importance of pensions and retirement planning, contact Nisa Neely at [email protected] or 630-706-4511.

ABOUT IMRF

Headquartered in Oak Brook, IMRF is the 47th largest retirement plan in the United States and the best-funded statewide public pension plan in the state of Illinois. For 77 years, IMRF has partnered with local units of government to provide benefits for public employees. Today, those benefits include retirement, disability, and death/survivor payments. With a funded status of 92.9 percent and approximately $41.4 billion in assets, IMRF is financially-sound and sustainable. As Illinois' second-largest pension plan, IMRF serves approximately 420,000 members in nearly 3,000 units of government, including counties, cities, towns, villages, libraries, park districts, and non-teaching personnel in local school districts. IMRF's diversified portfolio includes domestic and international equities, fixed income, real estate, and alternative investments. The average member who retired in 2017 is receiving a monthly pension of $1857.

Contact:  Nisa Neely – [email protected] or 630-706-4511

SOURCE The Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund