To the Editor:

I am inspired to write by Sen. Pam Althoff’s comments about the “broken pension systems.” Her comments ignore the cause of the problem. It seems she feels that it just happened, kind of like catching a cold. It just happened and she does not know how.

The pension systems were established in Illinois asking the employees to contribute during their working years while the state also would pitch in. The retirement system would then invest the money and, through the magic of compounding, there would be enough assets for the retiree to receive an ongoing annuity based on years of service for life. The system was designed to be self-perpetuating with enough funds to avoid any burden on future taxpayers.