West Central Reporter

Former state school employee Karen Haacke, who retired in May 2016, saved $61,692 toward a pension over 15 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Haacke would collect as much as $713,539, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes West Central Reporter.

The projection assumes Haacke received $14,998 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Haacke will have already received $62,745 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.