Chicago City Wire

Former state school employee Marc Sokolowski, who retired in June 2017, saved $28,647 toward a pension over 5 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Sokolowski would collect as much as $625,649, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Sokolowski received $13,150 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Sokolowski will have already received $40,646 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.