Dupage Policy Journal

Former state school employee Deborah Whitezell, who retired in June 2016, saved $142,968 toward a pension over 25 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Whitezell would collect as much as $2.4 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Whitezell received $50,354 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Whitezell will have already received $155,640 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.