Over 30 years of retirement, Cates would collect as much as $574,307, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.
The projection assumes Cates received $12,071 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.
After 4 years of retirement, Cates will have already received $50,500 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.