McLean County Times

Former state school employee Frederick Schmelzer, who retired in May 2016, saved $169,836 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, Schmelzer would collect as much as $3.98 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes McLean County Times.

The projection assumes Schmelzer received $83,702 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Schmelzer will have already received $169,915 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.