Dupage Policy Journal

Former state school employee Karen Kiernan, who retired in June 2016, saved $160,054 toward a pension over 24 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Kiernan would collect as much as $3.51 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Kiernan received $73,811 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Kiernan will have already received $228,142 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.