Lake County Gazette

Former state school employee Julie Shapiro, who retired in June 2018, saved $177,418 toward a pension over 34 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Shapiro would collect as much as $3.92 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes Shapiro received $82,361 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Shapiro will have already received $254,570 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.