How much did retired Illinois teacher Linda M. McCoy contribute to retirement savings by the end of their career, according to contribution data accumulated from FOIA requests?
Linda M. McCoy of Indian Prairie Community Unit School District 204 contributed $154,357 during their tenure as a teacher.
They earned $125,227 when they retired after the 2018 school year.
Of the $154,357, they’ve taken home $5,497.
Rotherham said a sizable amount of teacher pensions are made in the last five years of a pension, approximately between 25 and 30 years of contributions.
The average teacher salary in the US is roughly $60,000 in 2019. Teachers just starting can expect to earn less than $40,000, according to Melanie Weir with Business Insider.
Andrew J. Kaim earned $138,231 in the last year with Downers Grove Community High School 99.
In that time, they contributed $153,778 to their pension, which will come into effect after they retire.
A study published in the Education Next Journal found higher salaries can have significant ramifications on the quality of teachers within a school district. It found increasing the skills of a teacher through continued higher education resulted in improved student performance.
Rotherham said a sizable amount of teacher pensions are made in the last five years of a pension, approximately between 25 and 30 years of contributions.
Illinois School District