Former state school employee Thonn paid in $123K to teachers' pension fund, could collect $3.32M in retirement

Former state school employee Mary Thonn, who retired in May 2016, saved $122,626 toward a pension over 43 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Thonn would collect as much as $3.32 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Thonn received $69,859 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Thonn will have already received $141,814 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.