Former state school employee Richards paid in $6K to teachers' pension fund, could collect $91K in retirement

Former state school employee Lauren Richards, who retired in May 2018, saved $6,313 toward a pension over 5 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Richards would collect as much as $91,190, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Richards received $1,916 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Richards will have already received $8,014 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.