Will County Gazette

Former state school employee Kay Elam, who retired in June 2017, saved $88,242 toward a pension over 24 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Elam would collect as much as $1.96 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Will County Gazette.

The projection assumes Elam received $41,260 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Elam will have already received $127,531 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.