Topics & Report

              topics &
r e port
Executive Director’s Message
Teachers’ Retirement System of the State of Illinois
Fall 2008
Director’s message continued on page 2
Fall is an especially busy time of
year for our active members who
have just started the new school
year. While TRS doesn’t usually
publish a fall edition of Topics &
Report, there are several important
issues that caused us to send this
special edition. Those issues include the upcoming fall
ballot question concerning a constitutional convention,
the upcoming election for the TRS Board of Trustees,
and recent investment performance.
The TRS Board of Trustees and I wanted to directly
address this past year’s investment performance with
our membership in order to give you the complete
picture. Steep declines and significant volatility in
the global financial markets during fiscal year 2008
pushed investment returns into the red for the Teachers’
Retirement System and many other large public pen-sion
funds. However, TRS’s long-term performance
remains strong, helping to offset the recent losses.
Retirement Security for Illinois Educators
Special Edition
Vote continued on page 3
TRS posted a neg-ative
4.5 percent
return, befor e
investment fees
are subt racted,
for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2008. The
negative return was the first in six years at TRS, and
only the fourth in the past 30 years. The global financial
markets plummeted during the past fiscal year amid
climbing oil prices, problems within the credit markets,
and concerns about a slowing U.S. economy.
TRS continues to achieve positive returns over the long
term. The System earned 8.6 percent and 10.7 percent
annual returns for the three-year and five-year reporting
periods, respectively. Further, TRS earned 7.3 percent
annually for the 10-year period. Those returns ranked
the System in the top 25 percent among other large
public pension plans. These long-term returns provide
a more accurate assessment of how TRS investments are
Your Vote will Determine a Constitutional Convention
Voters will have another chance to shape history when
they head to the polls on November 4 to cast their bal-lots
in the General Election. While the race for U.S.
president is grabbing most of the headlines, Illinois
voters will also have the
responsibility of deciding
whether to hold a constitu-tional
convention.
The stakes are high because
the results of holding a con-stitutional
convention may
include the weakening or total elimination of the current
pension protections. This could threaten the retirement
security of future educators and impact Illinois’ ability
to attract and retain quality educators.
Proponents believe holding such a convention is a
golden opportunity to bring reform to a state government
mired in gridlock. But in real-ity,
a constitutional convention
will allow government to pro-crastinate
on important issues
instead of addressing Illinois
problems now.
The current Illinois Constitution
contains provisions that prevent pension benefits from
being “diminished or impaired,” meaning the state can’t
The current Illinois Constitution
protects your benef its from
being diminished or impaired in
the event of a budget crisis.
Highlights
Page 3
• 2009 Board Election
Page 4
• Legislative Actions