Former state school employee Julia Plepel, who retired in June 2017, saved $160,515 toward a pension over 33 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Plepel would collect as much as $2.84 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Plepel received $59,607 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Plepel will have already received $184,239 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.