Galesburg Reporter

Former state school employee Mary Derham, who retired in May 2018, saved $123,500 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, Derham would collect as much as $2.75 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Galesburg Reporter.

The projection assumes Derham received $57,787 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Derham will have already received $178,615 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.