South Central Reporter

Former state school employee Mary Brightwell Arnold, who retired in January 2018, saved $4,518 toward a pension over 3 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Brightwell Arnold would collect as much as $246,750, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes South Central Reporter.

The projection assumes Brightwell Arnold received $5,186 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 1 years of retirement, Brightwell Arnold will have already received $5,186 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.