Lake County Gazette

Former state school employee Valerie Smith, who retired in February 2017, saved $35,056 toward a pension over 5 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 $444,592, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes Smith received $9,345 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Smith will have already received $39,095 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.