Metro East Sun

Former state school employee Vanda Underwood, who retired in February 2018, saved $59,025 toward a pension over 16 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Underwood would collect as much as $943,026, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Metro East Sun.

The projection assumes Underwood received $19,821 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Underwood will have already received $61,265 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.