Lake County Gazette

Former state school employee Joanne Hecht, who retired in June 2018, saved $10,634 toward a pension over 7 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Hecht would collect as much as $224,120, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes Hecht received $4,710 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Hecht will have already received $14,558 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.