East Central Reporter

Former state school employee Rebecca Gruis, who retired in May 2017, saved $55,921 toward a pension over 14 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Gruis would collect as much as $786,541, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes East Central Reporter.

The projection assumes Gruis received $16,532 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Gruis will have already received $69,164 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.