Over 30 years of retirement, Higginbotham would collect as much as $2.49 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes East Central Reporter.
The projection assumes Higginbotham received $52,294 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.
After 3 years of retirement, Higginbotham will have already received $161,636 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.