Chicago City Wire

Former substitute teacher Betty Starks, who retired in July 2016, saved $25,079 toward a pension over 14 years working for public schools, Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Starks would collect as much as $295,628, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Starks received $6,213 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Starks will have already received $25,992 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.