Former state school employee Janet Pavel, who retired in August 2016, saved $78,157 toward a pension over 19 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Pavel would collect as much as $1.3 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Pavel received $27,321 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Pavel will have already received $84,447 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.