Metro East Sun

Former state school employee Constance Culbertson, who retired in May 2017, saved $70,560 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, Culbertson would collect as much as $1.15 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Metro East Sun.

The projection assumes Culbertson received $24,084 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Culbertson will have already received $74,442 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.