Lake County Gazette

Former state school employee James Hochstetler, who retired in June 2016, saved $119,419 toward a pension over 26 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Hochstetler would collect as much as $2.61 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes Hochstetler received $54,790 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Hochstetler will have already received $169,351 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.