Illinois Sees Spike in State Worker Retirements

The State Employees Retirement System says many government workers in Illinois are rushing to retire.

SERS Executive Secretary Tim Blair says more than 4,000 state workers will retire in the fiscal year that ends June 30. That's up more than 40 percent from last year's roughly 2,750.

The Mattoon Journal-Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/IDEucf ) that the push to retire is being driven in part by concerns about state government's multibillion-dollar budget deficit.

But discussions about changing Illinois' pension systems are a factor, too. Gov. Pat Quinn is expected to soon announce a plan to deal with underfunded pension systems.

But the state won't be able to simply leave the jobs open and save money.

Quinn spokeswoman Kelly Kraft said at least some of the retiring workers will have to be replaced.