Dupage Policy Journal

Former state school employee Melissa Hennessy, who retired in May 2018, saved $232,119 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, Hennessy would collect as much as $5.11 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Hennessy received $107,463 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Hennessy will have already received $332,158 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.