Lake County Gazette

Former state school employee Linda Rich, who retired in September 2017, saved $220,888 toward a pension over 35 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Rich would collect as much as $5.55 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes Rich received $116,631 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Rich will have already received $236,761 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.