Former state school employee Skoczelas paid in $16K to teachers' pension fund, could collect $272K in retirement

Former state school employee Mary Skoczelas, who retired in June 2016, saved $15,650 toward a pension over 11 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Skoczelas would collect as much as $271,710, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Skoczelas received $5,711 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Skoczelas will have already received $17,651 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.