Chicago City Wire

Former substitute teacher Deborah Powell, who retired in November 2018, saved $31,380 toward a pension over 13 years working for public schools, Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Powell would collect as much as $407,659, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Powell received $8,568 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Powell will have already received $35,846 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.