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Chicago City Wire

Thursday, July 31, 2025

Former paramedic O'Connell paid in $259K to pension fund, could collect $5.01M in retirement

Money 05

Former paramedic James O'Connell, who retired in November 2017, saved $258,723 toward a pension over 34 years working for fire departments, Firemen's Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, O'Connell would collect as much as $5.01 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes O'Connell received $105,344 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, O'Connell will have already received $325,607 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.

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