DeKalb Times

Former state school employee Billy Richardson, who retired in June 2018, saved $233,082 toward a pension over 35 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Richardson would collect as much as $4.57 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DeKalb Times.

The projection assumes Richardson received $96,127 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Richardson will have already received $297,119 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.