Over 30 years of retirement, Gardner would collect as much as $428,743, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes East Central Reporter.
The projection assumes Gardner received $9,011 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.
After 4 years of retirement, Gardner will have already received $37,697 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.