Analysis: Roselle Firefighters Pension Fund would go bankrupt in 13 years without taxpayer subsidy

Without members and taxpayers subsidizing its revenue, the Roselle Firefighters Pension Fund would have lost $556,222 in 2018, according to a DuPage Policy Journal analysis of the latest data reported to the Illinois Department of Insurance Pension Division.

The fund has $7,062,673 in total assets. If the fund’s annual losses stay the same, it would run out of money in 13 years without these subsidies.

The fund lost $197,282 in investment income and other revenue in 2018. At the same time, it paid out $358,940 in expenses, according to the 2019 biennial report detailing the health of each of the state’s pension funds and retirement systems. The difference between the two shows the fund’s annual loss without subsidies.

Taxpayers added $318,900 to the fund’s revenue last year – an amount that has decreased from $328,944 five years ago. Members contributed an additional $100,887 – $3,239 more than five years ago.

In all, subsidies amounted to $419,787 in 2018.