Former state school employee Lavine paid in $21K to teachers' pension fund, could collect $1.04M in retirement

Former state school employee Mary Lavine, who retired in March 2016, saved $20,815 toward a pension over 12 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Lavine would collect as much as $1.04 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Lavine received $21,775 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 1 years of retirement, Lavine will have already received $21,775 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.