East Central Reporter

Former state school employee Karen Hayford, who retired in May 2016, saved $111,722 toward a pension over 28 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Hayford would collect as much as $1.49 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes East Central Reporter.

The projection assumes Hayford received $31,418 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Hayford will have already received $131,443 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.