2019 Award Recipient

Baldrige Performance Excellence Program • National Institute of Standards and Technology • Department of Commerce 

Highlights

• IMRF has received a Standard & Poor’s “strong” rating 

since 2017 and is 90% funded; only 16 of the 100 largest 

U.S. public pension plans are funded at this level.

• IMRF’s 10-year performance of 9.47% gross annualized 

rate of return for the period ending in 2018 outperforms 

the actuarial assumption of 7.5% and a total portfolio 

benchmark of 8.78%.

• Member satisfaction with transactions was 97% in 2018. 

Employer satisfaction with transactions was 96%.

• IMRF contributes to societal well-being and the Illinois 

economy through the benefits paid to retired members. 

The $1.8 billion in benefits paid in 2018 added $2.7 billion 

in total economic activity in Illinois, and it supported the 

creation of 18,329 jobs.

 

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

The Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF) is a public-defined 

benefit pension plan providing services to the employees of units 

of local government and school districts throughout the state of 

Illinois (except for the City of Chicago and Cook County). The main 

product is money payments to members in response to an event, 

such as separation from employment, disability, death, or retirement. 

It has main and satellite offices, respectively, in Oak Brook and 

Springfield, IL, as well as eight Illinois regional home offices for field 

representatives.

Senior Leadership

• The Board of Trustees supports responsible governance, assures 

accountability, and supports IMRF’s performance excellence 

journey. IMRF has achieved 100% in measures of regulatory and 

legal compliance such as board fiduciary training.

• Senior leaders and supervisors regularly engage with employees 

and chat about the REAACH (Respect, Empathy, Accountability, 

Accuracy, Courage, Honesty) values, with 94% of IMRF employees 

saying that they identify well with IMRF’s values.

Financial Results

• IMRF has received a Standard & Poor’s “strong” rating since 2017 

and is 90% funded; only 16 of the 100 largest U.S. public pension 

plans are funded at this level. The plan’s funded status far exceeds 

the U.S. average of 73.7% for 124 U.S. public pension funds. Since 

2014, IMRF’s funding level has been more than double the levels 

of five Illinois state-funded plans and eight Chicago-funded plans.

• IMRF has grown its assets from $5,000 in 1941 to $42.7 billion in 

2019, and it is the second-largest pension fund by assets in the 

state of Illinois. It is the largest in the state by number of members, 

with over 429,000.

Product and Service Results

• IMRF’s 10-year performance of 9.47% gross annualized rate 

of return for the period ending in 2018 outperforms the actuarial 

assumption (an estimate of an uncertain variable input into a 

financial model, normally for the purposes of calculating premiums 

or benefits) of 7.5% and a total portfolio benchmark of 8.78%. 

Despite the 2008 financial crisis and the resulting recession, IMRF’s 

15-year performance of 7.12% is just below its 7.50% actuarial 

assumption. Investments in eight asset classes exceeded 

benchmarks in 13 of 24 measured periods of 3, 5, and 10 years.

• IMRF participates in a global benchmarking study that provides 

detailed comparisons for leading pension systems worldwide, 

including 44 in IMRF’s peer group. IMRF ranks ninth in its peer 

group for total service score, which measures the performance of 
2019 Award Recipient

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund 

 its products and services. IMRF’s score increased from 86 in 2014 Management Process. In addition, 100% of staff have completed 

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Baldrige Performance Excellence Program • National Institute of Standards and Technology • Department of Commerce