Dupage Policy Journal

Former state school employee Pamela Cavanaugh, who retired in June 2016, saved $210,522 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, Cavanaugh would collect as much as $3.61 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Cavanaugh received $75,857 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Cavanaugh will have already received $234,467 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.