Former state school employee Bruning paid in $161K to teachers' pension fund, could collect $3.18M in retirement

Former state school employee Ellen Bruning, who retired in June 2018, saved $161,005 toward a pension over 25 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Bruning would collect as much as $3.18 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Bruning received $66,909 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Bruning will have already received $206,808 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.