Peoria Standard

Former state school employee Karen Brown, who retired in May 2016, saved $105,697 toward a pension over 34 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

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

The projection assumes Brown received $54,486 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Brown will have already received $110,607 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.