South Central Reporter

Former state school employee Margaret Watson, who retired in May 2018, saved $34,755 toward a pension over 9 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Watson would collect as much as $530,422, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes South Central Reporter.

The projection assumes Watson received $11,149 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Watson will have already received $46,641 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.