East Central Reporter

Former state school employee Paula Bidle Stear, who retired in May 2018, saved $103,132 toward a pension over 34 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Bidle Stear would collect as much as $2.17 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes East Central Reporter.

The projection assumes Bidle Stear received $45,710 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Bidle Stear will have already received $141,284 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.