Peoria Standard

Former state school employee John Tignor, who retired in July 2016, saved $252,156 toward a pension over 35 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Tignor would collect as much as $5.29 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Peoria Standard.

The projection assumes Tignor received $111,225 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Tignor will have already received $343,786 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.