SPRINGFIELD, IL – The Teachers’ Retirement System’s Supplemental Savings Plan continued to see steady growth as it passed its one-year anniversary in January, according to statistics reviewed by the TRS Board of Trustees.

Throughout 2022, more than 1,000 active TRS members elected to participate in the SSP, which is an optional 457(b) deferred compensation savings program that is designed to help retirees supplement their TRS pensions. The SSP was launched on January 1, 2022.

Altogether, payroll deductions for the SSP totaled $2.9 million.

Under the SSP, participants may choose to contribute a set amount or a percentage of each paycheck into an individual investment account administered by Voya Financial, of New York, New York. Participants selected their investments from a menu of choices. At retirement, participants are free to withdraw the money as they see fit. The SSP is open to all eligible TRS members who are active in Tier 1 and Tier 2.

As of January 2023, state law required all new TRS members hired by school districts and other employers to be automatically enrolled in the SSP. Automatically enrolled participants are able to opt out of the program if they wish and rejoin the plan later in their careers. Since the beginning of the year, 191 new TRS members have been automatically enrolled. 

In other action during its regularly scheduled February meeting, the trustees reviewed the following investment actions:

• Within the System’s $10.6 billion Private Equity Portfolio:
  • The commitment of $50 million to Greenbriar Equity Group, of Greenwich, Connecticut. This is a new investment relationship for TRS.
  • The commitment of €65 million to ArchiMed, of Lyon, France. This is a new investment relationship for TRS.
  • The commitment of $60 million to StepStone, of LaJolla, California. StepStone currently manages $1.14 billion in TRS assets.
• Within the System’s $12.3 billion Real Assets Portfolio:
  • The commitment of up to $50 million to Elion Partners, of Miami, Florida. This is a new investment relationship for TRS. Elion is a Latino-owned business enterprise that is a new member of the System’s Emerging Manger Program.
• Within the $15.3 billion Income Portfolio:
  • The commitment of $250 million to Ares Management Company, of New York, New York. This is a new investment relationship for TRS.
  • The commitment of $250 million to Oaktree Capital Management, of Los Angeles, California. Oaktree currently manages $567 million in TRS assets.

About Teachers’ Retirement System

The Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois is the 42nd largest pension system in the United States, and provides retirement, disability and survivor benefits to teachers, administrators and other public-school personnel employed outside of Chicago. The System serves 439,000 members and had assets of $63.3 billion as of December 31, 2022.