IMRF head weighs in on treasurer's pension plan

Executive Director of Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund, Louis W. Kosiba recently answered an inquiry from the Daily Register about how much more the county will spend on Treasurer Danny Ragan's retirement pension if he does not voluntarily drop out of the discontinued Elected County Official retirement plan.

Rod Wallace, county board candidate and father of Sarah Wallace, Republican candidate for the Saline County Treasurer's office, has made Ragan's pension plan an issue at recent Saline County Board meetings. Wallace has asked Ragan to voluntarily opt out of the ECO plan.

ECO became state law in 1997 and was revised since until being permanently closed by the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund in 2011. However, those who enrolled were grandfathered in and maintain their ECO benefits since the closing.

Saline County rescinded their participation in 2004. The state canceled it in 2007.

The problem is that it is too expensive. In other words, it was too sweet a deal for elected officials and financially unsustainable for taxpayers.

However, those enrolled before closure were allowed to continue the plan. Ragan is the only Saline County office holder paying into the plan from his salary.

According to Kosiba, if Ragan left the ECO plan he would save the county $25,859 for the 2014 budget year. Kosiba would not project on savings for future years.

Ragan says his leaving the plan would cost the county in that the county would be responsible for paying into the plan what Ragan does from his salary.

"If I am not in office the county will pay $8,000 to $10,000 more in ECO contributions," Ragan said.

"That's if I lose the election. The salary contributions that I make would end and the county would have to make up the difference for the other ECO retirees and contributors."

Ragan and county board members have said the county has done all it can to resolve the ECO pension issue.

"These are IMRF rules about pensions. We here in the county or the board have nothing to do about those. The board has done all it can do by getting out of the program."

Ragan has said he will not be opting out of the pension he has been promised.

"No one would agree to have their pension taken away just before retirement. Rod thought that the county's rate of 167 percent of my salary was going only for my pension," Ragan said.

"It is in fact supporting, I think, 17 other ECO participants. Only 16 percent of that money goes toward my pension."

"As far as I am concerned it is not an issue. He might as well have talked about Social Security rates being high. The county's IMRF rate will be higher if my opponent wins because then the county will be paying for her retirement under IMRF and my retirement under ECO."

Wallace said when interviewed for this story, "Why can't Danny accept the IMRF plan for himself? What makes him think he is better than anyone else?"