Dupage Policy Journal

Former state school employee Elizabeth O'Connor, who retired in June 2016, saved $159,721 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, O'Connor would collect as much as $3.35 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes O'Connor received $70,456 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, O'Connor will have already received $217,773 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.