Chicago City Wire

Former state school employee Wen Chen Mao, who retired in October 2018, saved $21,832 toward a pension over 7 years working for public schools, Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Mao would collect as much as $253,476, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Mao received $5,327 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Mao will have already received $22,288 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.