Former state school employee Baker paid in $135K to teachers' pension fund, could collect $3.47M in retirement

Former state school employee Deborah Baker, who retired in May 2017, saved $134,774 toward a pension over 30 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Baker would collect as much as $3.47 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Baker received $72,967 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Baker will have already received $148,123 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.