East Central Reporter

Former state school employee George Atkinson, who retired in May 2017, saved $70,428 toward a pension over 26 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Atkinson would collect as much as $1.35 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes East Central Reporter.

The projection assumes Atkinson received $28,421 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Atkinson will have already received $87,847 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.