Lake County Gazette

Former state school employee Elizabeth Wodarski, who retired in December 2018, saved $86,617 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, Wodarski would collect as much as $2.09 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Lake County Gazette.

The projection assumes Wodarski received $43,948 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Wodarski will have already received $89,214 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.