Lake County Gazette

Former state school employee Annette Vanderploeg, who retired in June 2017, saved $168,935 toward a pension over 26 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Vanderploeg would collect as much as $2.9 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes Vanderploeg received $60,861 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Vanderploeg will have already received $188,116 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.