Lake County Gazette

Former state school employee Suzanne Swanson, who retired in June 2016, saved $192,368 toward a pension over 22 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Swanson would collect as much as $2.39 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes Swanson received $50,170 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Swanson will have already received $209,892 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.