Dupage Policy Journal

Former state school employee Diane McCandless, who retired in May 2018, saved $99,457 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, McCandless would collect as much as $1.89 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes McCandless received $39,823 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, McCandless will have already received $123,090 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.