Dupage Policy Journal

Former state school employee Cherie Kerzee Stames, who retired in June 2017, saved $224,364 toward a pension over 29 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Kerzee Stames would collect as much as $4.79 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Kerzee Stames received $100,680 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Kerzee Stames will have already received $311,191 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.