Illinois Valley Times

Former state school employee Barbara Mead, who retired in May 2018, saved $72,316 toward a pension over 21 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Mead would collect as much as $1.23 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Illinois Valley Times.

The projection assumes Mead received $25,764 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Mead will have already received $79,634 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.