Dupage Policy Journal

Former state school employee Mary MacHalinski, who retired in May 2018, saved $173,624 toward a pension over 26 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, MacHalinski would collect as much as $3.61 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes MacHalinski received $75,901 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, MacHalinski will have already received $234,602 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.