McLean County Times

Former state school employee Mary Jespersen, who retired in May 2016, saved $143,011 toward a pension over 22 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Jespersen would collect as much as $1.77 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes McLean County Times.

The projection assumes Jespersen received $37,293 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Jespersen will have already received $156,020 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.