South Central Reporter

Former state school employee Andrew Kassebaum, who retired in May 2016, saved $158,023 toward a pension over 36 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Kassebaum would collect as much as $3.53 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes South Central Reporter.

The projection assumes Kassebaum received $74,174 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Kassebaum will have already received $229,264 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.