South Central Reporter

Former state school employee Jo Whitehead, who retired in May 2018, saved $140,426 toward a pension over 31 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Whitehead would collect as much as $2.59 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes South Central Reporter.

The projection assumes Whitehead received $54,459 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Whitehead will have already received $168,328 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.