Lake County Gazette

Former state school employee Cheryl Sell, who retired in May 2018, saved $168,849 toward a pension over 29 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Sell would collect as much as $3.48 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes Sell received $73,127 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Sell will have already received $226,029 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.