Former state school employee Gajewski paid in $39K to teachers' pension fund, could collect $391K in retirement

Former state school employee Barbara Gajewski, who retired in August 2016, saved $39,284 toward a pension over 8 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Gajewski would collect as much as $391,081, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Gajewski received $8,220 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 5 years of retirement, Gajewski will have already received $43,643 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.