McLean County Times

Former state school employee Cynthia Meister, who retired in May 2016, saved $108,857 toward a pension over 34 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Meister would collect as much as $2.19 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes McLean County Times.

The projection assumes Meister received $46,004 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Meister will have already received $142,194 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.