Lake County Gazette

Former state school employee Colleen McGrath, who retired in May 2016, saved $171,417 toward a pension over 27 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, McGrath would collect as much as $2.84 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes McGrath received $59,785 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, McGrath will have already received $184,790 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.