Lake County Gazette

Former state school employee Karen Lipinski, who retired in June 2018, saved $101,351 toward a pension over 19 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Lipinski would collect as much as $1.85 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes Lipinski received $38,906 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Lipinski will have already received $120,254 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.