Lake County Gazette

Former state school employee Valerie Christensen, who retired in June 2018, saved $133,322 toward a pension over 27 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Christensen would collect as much as $2.52 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes Christensen received $52,868 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Christensen will have already received $163,410 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.