Former state school employee Kathy Plath, who retired in June 2018, saved $126,503 toward a pension over 25 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Plath would collect as much as $2.63 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes Plath received $55,376 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Plath will have already received $171,161 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.