Dupage Policy Journal

Former state school employee Susan Lewis, who retired in June 2017, saved $173,218 toward a pension over 33 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Lewis would collect as much as $3.43 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Lewis received $72,077 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Lewis will have already received $222,782 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.