Dupage Policy Journal

Former state school employee Ljiljana Mercier, who retired in July 2016, saved $52,733 toward a pension over 17 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Mercier would collect as much as $994,002, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Mercier received $20,893 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Mercier will have already received $64,579 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.