Former state school employee Linda Penney, who retired in February 2016, saved $26,615 toward a pension over 9 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Penney would collect as much as $495,756, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes Penney received $10,420 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Penney will have already received $32,208 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.