Metro East Sun

Former state school employee Vickie Jones, who retired in December 2016, saved $150,624 toward a pension over 27 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Jones would collect as much as $2.79 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Metro East Sun.

The projection assumes Jones received $58,733 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Jones will have already received $181,538 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.