Dupage Policy Journal

Former state school employee Martha Harms, who retired in May 2016, saved $134,781 toward a pension over 27 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Harms would collect as much as $3 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Harms received $63,022 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Harms will have already received $194,795 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.