Lake County Gazette

Former state school employee Elsa Barrett, who retired in June 2018, saved $70,930 toward a pension over 16 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Barrett would collect as much as $996,925, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes Barrett received $20,954 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Barrett will have already received $87,664 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.