Metro East Sun

Former state school employee Earnestine Wooten, who retired in April 2016, saved $46,608 toward a pension over 32 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Wooten would collect as much as $1.31 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Metro East Sun.

The projection assumes Wooten received $27,472 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Wooten will have already received $55,768 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.