Former state school employee Plankenhorn paid in $10K to teachers' pension fund, could collect $578K in retirement

Former state school employee Connie Plankenhorn, who retired in June 2018, saved $10,359 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, Plankenhorn would collect as much as $577,595, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Plankenhorn received $12,140 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 1 years of retirement, Plankenhorn will have already received $12,140 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.