Dupage Policy Journal

Former state school employee Mary Brinker, who retired in June 2018, saved $200,337 toward a pension over 34 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Brinker would collect as much as $4.4 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Brinker received $92,395 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Brinker will have already received $285,584 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.