Lake County Gazette

Former state school employee Rosanna Sickels, who retired in June 2016, saved $171,578 toward a pension over 31 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Sickels would collect as much as $3.66 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes Sickels received $76,868 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Sickels will have already received $237,591 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.