Carbondale Reporter

Former state school employee Jackie Smith, who retired in July 2016, saved $166,833 toward a pension over 38 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Smith would collect as much as $4 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Carbondale Reporter.

The projection assumes Smith received $84,013 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Smith will have already received $170,546 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.