Lake County Gazette

Former state school employee John Smith, who retired in March 2018, saved $37,416 toward a pension over 10 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Smith would collect as much as $534,292, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes Smith received $11,230 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Smith will have already received $46,982 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.