Kane County Reporter

Former state school employee Karen Sullivan, who retired in May 2016, saved $145,837 toward a pension over 36 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Sullivan would collect as much as $3.89 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Kane County Reporter.

The projection assumes Sullivan received $81,822 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Sullivan will have already received $166,099 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.