Lake County Gazette

Former state school employee Vanessa Johnson, who retired in June 2017, saved $183,157 toward a pension over 34 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Johnson would collect as much as $3.52 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes Johnson received $73,905 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Johnson will have already received $228,433 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.