Former state school employee Layer paid in $156K to teachers' pension fund, could collect $4.3M in retirement

Former state school employee Barbara Layer, who retired in June 2016, saved $156,266 toward a pension over 40 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Layer would collect as much as $4.3 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Layer received $90,414 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Layer will have already received $183,540 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.