Former state school employee Mary Pond Pater, who retired in August 2016, saved $119,248 toward a pension over 30 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Pond Pater would collect as much as $2.31 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Pond Pater received $48,572 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Pond Pater will have already received $150,131 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.