West Central Reporter

Former state school employee Brenda Sparrow, who retired in June 2018, saved $95,443 toward a pension over 32 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Sparrow would collect as much as $1.69 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes West Central Reporter.

The projection assumes Sparrow received $35,510 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Sparrow will have already received $109,757 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.