Former state school employee Halpin paid in $144K to teachers' pension fund, could collect $3.44M in retirement

Former state school employee Donna Halpin, who retired in May 2016, saved $143,707 toward a pension over 29 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Halpin would collect as much as $3.44 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Halpin received $72,407 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Halpin will have already received $146,986 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.