Dupage Policy Journal

Former state school employee Joan Marcellus, who retired in May 2016, saved $76,530 toward a pension over 16 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Marcellus would collect as much as $1.37 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Marcellus received $28,732 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Marcellus will have already received $88,808 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.