Will County Gazette

Former state school employee James Martin, who retired in May 2018, saved $259,424 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, Martin would collect as much as $5.56 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Will County Gazette.

The projection assumes Martin received $116,874 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Martin will have already received $361,245 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.