A new report confirms Illinois is among the worst in the country when it comes to funding its public pensions.

The report was distributed by the Tax Foundation, an independent tax policy nonprofit. It indicates the state is only 39% funded for future pension obligations, the second-worst ratio in the country.

“Illinois has had this problem for decades,” said Katherine Loughead, senior policy analyst with the Tax Foundation. “It’s not getting any better. It is the major driver of Illinois’ chronic financial difficulties. If the state ever wants to become a more taxpayer-friendly state, it will have to address the public retirement system.”

She said there are a number of different consequences to having a low pension-funded ratio.

“One of those is taxpayers have to pay more every year to fund existing pension obligations than they would have to otherwise,” Loughead said. “Then the retirement plan isn’t generating the investment earnings that it would if it were adequately funded.”

In addition, Loughead says the situation is harming the state’s competitiveness when it comes to both residents and businesses.

“An underfunded pension system is a very strong signal that if I move here, even if taxes aren’t horrible now, that’s a huge liability in the state that they have to fulfill in one way or the other,” Loughead said. “It is signaling that the trajectory Illinois is on is toward higher and higher taxes in the future.”

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