Metro East Sun

Former state school employee David Hemmer, who retired in July 2018, saved $21,100 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, Hemmer would collect as much as $480,907, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Metro East Sun.

The projection assumes Hemmer received $10,108 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Hemmer will have already received $31,242 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.