Metro East Sun

Former state school employee Cathi Carpenter, who retired in May 2017, saved $129,944 toward a pension over 45 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Carpenter would collect as much as $4.28 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Metro East Sun.

The projection assumes Carpenter received $89,900 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Carpenter will have already received $182,497 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.