Dupage Policy Journal

Former state school employee Charlotte Kulla, who retired in May 2016, saved $155,376 toward a pension over 20 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Kulla would collect as much as $2.55 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Kulla received $53,626 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Kulla will have already received $165,753 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.