Former state school employee Luretha Phillips, who retired in December 2017, saved $17,867 toward a pension over 3 years working for public schools, Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Phillips would collect as much as $284,360, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Phillips received $5,977 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Phillips will have already received $18,474 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.