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About SURS
The following booklet was created to help educate our legislators and their staff about SURS and our funding needs. You can review it to learn more about the System, our investment and funding history, and our retirement benefits.
Learn more about the history of the State Universities Retirement System Members Advisory Committee.
Historically
In 1941, a four-year study concluded with the formation of the University Retirement System. The act provided "for the creation, maintenance, and administration of a Retirement System for the benefit of the staff members and employees of the University of Illinois and certain other state educational and scientific agencies." Ruth Ellen Kunkel was the System's first employee and administrator.
In 1942, the System had 3,760 participants and added two additional staff members. In the following years, the University Retirement System grew to include other universities, colleges, and affiliated agencies throughout the state of Illinois.
In 1963, the System adopted its current name, State Universities Retirement System (SURS).
Currently
Today SURS serves over 70 employers in Illinois including state universities, community colleges, and state agencies. It employs more than 100 people in offices in Champaign and Chicago and provides benefit services to over 180,000 members throughout the world.
Law ChangesSURS was created by the Governor of Illinois and the General Assembly in 1941. Consistent with that, changes to the existing benefit program must be enacted through legislation. An example of legislative action can be found in the passage of the funding bill. Law changes will continually impact the number of agencies we serve, the benefits we provide, how benefits are provided, and how we are funded.
Our Mission
The mission of the State Universities Retirement System (SURS) is to: (1) provide for SURS annuitants, participants, and their employers, in accordance with State law, the best and most cost-effective benefit administration services in the United States; (2) manage and invest the fund´s assets prudently; and (3) endeavor to achieve and maintain a financially sound retirement system.
Funding History
Prior to 1989, §15-155 provided that the employer contribution should be "sufficient to meet the requirements of this Article in accordance with actuarial determinations." Learn more about the laws that have determined how SURS is funded by reviewing the SURS Funding History. |