South Central Reporter

Former state school employee Lauri Heckert, who retired in May 2018, saved $133,021 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, Heckert would collect as much as $2.87 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes South Central Reporter.

The projection assumes Heckert received $60,257 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Heckert will have already received $186,249 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.