Lake County Gazette

Former state school employee Lucinda Hooper, who retired in June 2017, saved $76,578 toward a pension over 14 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Hooper would collect as much as $1.14 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes Hooper received $23,883 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Hooper will have already received $99,916 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.