Former state school employee Hart paid in $21K to teachers' pension fund, could collect $531K in retirement

Former state school employee Linda Hart, who retired in April 2016, saved $21,471 toward a pension over 7 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Hart would collect as much as $530,935, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Hart received $11,159 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Hart will have already received $22,653 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.