West Central Reporter

Former state school employee Carla Helmke, who retired in October 2016, saved $31,288 toward a pension over 5 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Helmke would collect as much as $264,740, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes West Central Reporter.

The projection assumes Helmke received $5,564 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 6 years of retirement, Helmke will have already received $35,990 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.