Rockford Sun

Former state school employee Wanda Nelson, who retired in June 2016, saved $174,371 toward a pension over 36 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 $3.31 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Rockford Sun.

The projection assumes Nelson received $69,531 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Nelson will have already received $214,914 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.