Galesburg Reporter

Former state school employee Mark Ericson, who retired in May 2016, saved $109,180 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, Ericson would collect as much as $2.62 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Galesburg Reporter.

The projection assumes Ericson received $55,008 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Ericson will have already received $111,666 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.