East Central Reporter

Former state school employee Karen Smith Cox, who retired in July 2016, saved $44,418 toward a pension over 15 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Smith Cox would collect as much as $791,793, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes East Central Reporter.

The projection assumes Smith Cox received $16,642 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Smith Cox will have already received $51,438 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.