South Central Reporter

Former state school employee Melinda Marsh, who retired in May 2017, saved $52,118 toward a pension over 15 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Marsh would collect as much as $596,001, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes South Central Reporter.

The projection assumes Marsh received $12,527 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Marsh will have already received $52,409 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.