McLean County Times

Former state school employee Michael Ayers, who retired in June 2017, saved $134,022 toward a pension over 35 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Ayers would collect as much as $3.14 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes McLean County Times.

The projection assumes Ayers received $65,969 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Ayers will have already received $203,903 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.