Chicago City Wire

Former state school employee Karen Deselm, who retired in May 2018, saved $192,538 toward a pension over 35 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Deselm would collect as much as $4.21 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Deselm received $88,488 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Deselm will have already received $273,508 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.