Metro East Sun

Former state school employee Catherine Kreher, who retired in May 2017, saved $5,335 toward a pension over 4 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Kreher would collect as much as $136,457, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Metro East Sun.

The projection assumes Kreher received $2,868 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Kreher will have already received $5,822 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.