Dupage Policy Journal

Former state school employee Susan Nelson, who retired in May 2016, saved $125,230 toward a pension over 23 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Nelson would collect as much as $1.84 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Nelson received $38,669 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Nelson will have already received $161,777 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.