McLean County Times

Former state school employee Susan Cortesi, who retired in May 2016, saved $155,432 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, Cortesi would collect as much as $3.03 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes McLean County Times.

The projection assumes Cortesi received $63,633 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Cortesi will have already received $196,683 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.