Metro East Sun

Former state school employee Melinda Myers, who retired in May 2017, saved $119,211 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, Myers would collect as much as $1.88 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Metro East Sun.

The projection assumes Myers received $39,568 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Myers will have already received $122,301 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.