Dupage Policy Journal

Former state school employee Brian Hereford, who retired in May 2016, saved $83,815 toward a pension over 21 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Hereford would collect as much as $1.25 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Hereford received $26,266 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Hereford will have already received $109,888 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.