Former state school employee Jami Monge, who retired in June 2018, saved $144,287 toward a pension over 35 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Monge would collect as much as $2.61 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Monge received $54,876 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Monge will have already received $169,616 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.