Lake County Gazette

Former state school employee Ellen Harris, who retired in December 2016, saved $89,314 toward a pension over 22 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Harris would collect as much as $1.88 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes Harris received $39,411 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Harris will have already received $121,815 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.