Lake County Gazette

Former state school employee Katherine Dickson, who retired in May 2017, saved $167,684 toward a pension over 35 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Dickson would collect as much as $3.11 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes Dickson received $65,451 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Dickson will have already received $202,303 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.