Former state school employee Patricia Nackoney, who retired in December 2017, saved $94,209 toward a pension over 18 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Nackoney would collect as much as $1.77 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes Nackoney received $37,291 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Nackoney will have already received $115,263 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.