Lake County Gazette

Former state school employee Mary Kearney, who retired in November 2016, saved $54,053 toward a pension over 8 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Kearney would collect as much as $1.19 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes Kearney received $25,011 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Kearney will have already received $77,306 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.