Former state school employee Sarwark paid in $162K to teachers' pension fund, could collect $3.56M in retirement

Former state school employee Susan Sarwark, who retired in May 2017, saved $161,978 toward a pension over 33 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Sarwark would collect as much as $3.56 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Sarwark received $74,775 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Sarwark will have already received $231,122 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.