Lake County Gazette

Former state school employee Belgica Centonzio, who retired in June 2018, saved $43,479 toward a pension over 11 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Centonzio would collect as much as $575,946, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes Centonzio received $12,105 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Centonzio will have already received $50,642 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.