Former state school employee Bending paid in $77K to teachers' pension fund, could collect $1.46M in retirement

Former state school employee Christine Bending, who retired in May 2016, saved $76,759 toward a pension over 19 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Bending would collect as much as $1.46 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Bending received $30,652 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Bending will have already received $94,743 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.