McLean County Times

Former state school employee Kathryn Gillespie, who retired in May 2018, saved $137,874 toward a pension over 30 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Gillespie would collect as much as $2.81 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes McLean County Times.

The projection assumes Gillespie received $59,055 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Gillespie will have already received $182,534 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.