Chicago City Wire

Former high school teacher Philip Smith, who retired in December 2018, saved $41,536 toward a pension over 16 years working for public schools, Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Smith would collect as much as $643,149, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Smith received $13,518 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Smith will have already received $41,784 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.