East Central Reporter

Former state school employee Jill Birk, who retired in September 2017, saved $11,313 toward a pension over 9 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Birk would collect as much as $166,053, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes East Central Reporter.

The projection assumes Birk received $3,490 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Birk will have already received $14,602 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.