East Central Reporter

Former state school employee Gail Nelson, who retired in August 2017, saved $12,644 toward a pension over 10 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Nelson would collect as much as $595,767, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes East Central Reporter.

The projection assumes Nelson received $12,522 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Nelson will have already received $25,420 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.