South Central Reporter

Former state school employee Janice Burns, who retired in May 2017, saved $140,648 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, Burns would collect as much as $2.99 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes South Central Reporter.

The projection assumes Burns received $62,932 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Burns will have already received $194,517 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.