Lake County Gazette

Former state school employee Debra Morales, who retired in June 2018, saved $114,518 toward a pension over 23 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Morales would collect as much as $2.54 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes Morales received $53,355 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Morales will have already received $164,916 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.