Kane County Reporter

Former state school employee Debra Nielsen, who retired in May 2016, saved $95,152 toward a pension over 18 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Nielsen would collect as much as $1.81 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Kane County Reporter.

The projection assumes Nielsen received $37,944 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Nielsen will have already received $117,280 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.