Metro East Sun

Former state school employee Alayna Davies Smith, who retired in December 2018, saved $54,897 toward a pension over 12 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Davies Smith would collect as much as $712,957, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Metro East Sun.

The projection assumes Davies Smith received $14,985 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Davies Smith will have already received $62,693 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.