Metro East Sun

Former state school employee Thomas Lodes, who retired in May 2018, saved $187,649 toward a pension over 35 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Lodes would collect as much as $3.86 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Metro East Sun.

The projection assumes Lodes received $81,033 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Lodes will have already received $250,465 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.