Alton Fire Fighters Win Battle For Pension Funding

May 12, 2008 – The Alton Firefighters Pension Fund (AFPF) and its Trustees reached a settlement with the City of Alton in its case to get full funding of the fire fighters’ pension plan. The settlement agreement, which will be entered by the Circuit Court as an Order and Judgment, requires the City of Alton and its City Council to comply with state law and properly fund the pension.

According to a report made to the Alton City Council last year by AFPF’s attorney, the City of Alton had underfunded contributions to the fire fighters pension fund for many years, and certainly since 2000. The level of the contributions by the city and its fire fighters is required by state law to be actuarially reviewed annually to determine the levels of contributions by the city in order to keep the pension fund solvent and meet the future obligations to retirees. The contribution is calculated by a state-employed actuary and also by an independent actuary. Alton must now levy taxes or set its budget in order to generate money to support the pension fund in accordance with state statute.

“This is a significant victory, not only for Alton firefighters, but for the municipal employees in the entire state of Illinois,” says AFPF’s attorney, Daniel Tobben. “Many municipalities heretofore have skirted the law by underfunding the pensions of their fire fighters, police and other employees by contributing only what the City said it could afford, rather than the amount calculated by the actuaries, in accordance with applicable statutes. This order and judgment should alert cities that the days of discretionary pension funding are over.”