Chicago City Wire

Former substitute teacher Ella Dawson, who retired in December 2016, saved $18,938 toward a pension over 10 years working for public schools, Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Dawson would collect as much as $179,266, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Dawson received $3,768 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 5 years of retirement, Dawson will have already received $20,004 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.