South Central Reporter

Former state school employee Stephen Stanford, who retired in May 2016, saved $103,906 toward a pension over 23 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Stanford would collect as much as $1.78 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes South Central Reporter.

The projection assumes Stanford received $37,355 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Stanford will have already received $115,461 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.