Will County Gazette

Former state school employee Patrick O'Connell, who retired in May 2016, saved $180,717 toward a pension over 31 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, O'Connell would collect as much as $4.22 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Will County Gazette.

The projection assumes O'Connell received $88,690 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, O'Connell will have already received $274,133 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.