Peoria Standard

Former state school employee Jill Vertrees, who retired in July 2017, saved $105,070 toward a pension over 33 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Vertrees would collect as much as $1.72 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Peoria Standard.

The projection assumes Vertrees received $36,212 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Vertrees will have already received $111,927 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.