Illinois Valley Times

Former state school employee David Rucinski, who retired in May 2016, saved $129,883 toward a pension over 36 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Rucinski would collect as much as $2.7 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Illinois Valley Times.

The projection assumes Rucinski received $56,687 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Rucinski will have already received $175,215 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.