Retired North Chicago SD 187 employee Lourdes Velez saved $121,562 toward her pension over 26 years working for public schools, Illinois Teachers' Retirement Fund (TRS) records show.
Over 42 years of retirement, Velez would collect as much as $3.426 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.
Velez, 53, who currently lives in Wadsworth, earned $110,409 in her final year at North Chicago SD 187.
The projection assumes Velez will receive 36 percent of that total - $39,802 - in her first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.
After three years of retirement, Velez will have already received $123,025 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of her contributions to the state teachers' pension fund.
According to the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), 13 percent of North Chicago SD 187 students met or exceeded the standards for the "PARCC" exams. ISBE reported that 18.1 percent of district's graduates were deemed "college ready" last year.
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