West Central Reporter

Former state school employee Margaret Chambers, who retired in January 2018, saved $27,518 toward a pension over 7 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Chambers would collect as much as $524,136, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes West Central Reporter.

The projection assumes Chambers received $11,016 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Chambers will have already received $34,048 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.