Former state school employee John Cord, who retired in May 2018, saved $198,851 toward a pension over 35 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Cord would collect as much as $5.13 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Cord received $107,925 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Cord will have already received $219,088 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.