Metro East Sun

Former state school employee Debbra Kern, who retired in May 2016, saved $137,007 toward a pension over 36 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Kern would collect as much as $3.21 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Metro East Sun.

The projection assumes Kern received $67,437 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Kern will have already received $208,441 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.