McLean County Times

Former state school employee Brenda Thompson, who retired in July 2018, saved $47,186 toward a pension over 19 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Thompson would collect as much as $1.55 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes McLean County Times.

The projection assumes Thompson received $32,625 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Thompson will have already received $66,229 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.