Chicago City Wire

Former state school employee Karen Paloian, who retired in May 2018, saved $99,102 toward a pension over 24 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Paloian would collect as much as $1.97 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Paloian received $41,425 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Paloian will have already received $128,041 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.