Lake County Gazette

Former state school employee Douglas Shearer, who retired in June 2017, saved $208,783 toward a pension over 41 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Shearer would collect as much as $4.21 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes Shearer received $88,586 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Shearer will have already received $273,811 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.