In 2010, the Illinois General Assembly hastily created a "Tier 2" of separate, lower pension benefits for public employees hired after 2011, over the opposition of a coalition of unions representing public sector workers.

Since then, the drastically reduced benefits for “Tier 2” workers are further diminished due to inflation, meaning they can't keep up with rising costs like grocery and drug price increases. Many public employees cannot collect Social Security, meaning these pension benefits are their sole source of retirement security.

This problem was created by politicians failing to pay into the retirement system, and it’s them we should be holding accountable rather than punishing workers. 

From April 15-18, will you join our Week of Action to tell state lawmakers they must take action to fix Tier 2 pensions?

There are two ways to take action. If you would like to write to your lawmaker, click here. Or, you can dial 507-497-1665 to be connected to your lawmaker by phone.

When a public employee works hard their whole career, we should keep up our end of the deal and make sure they can retire and afford to pay their bills.

This action is the first step to push legislators in Springfield to ensure that all public sector workers have a fair, secure retirement after their service, allowing them to pay their bills while also ensuring the state can recruit and retain the essential workers who keep Illinois running.