Lake County Gazette

Former state school employee Kathy Tomase, who retired in June 2017, saved $4,702 toward a pension over 3 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Tomase would collect as much as $70,780, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes Tomase received $1,487 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Tomase will have already received $6,222 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.