Former state school employee James Molnar, who retired in October 2018, saved $32,710 toward a pension over 11 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Molnar would collect as much as $844,305, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes Molnar received $17,746 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Molnar will have already received $36,024 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.