Rock Island Today

Former state school employee John Thompson, who retired in September 2016, saved $5,520 toward a pension over 5 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Thompson would collect as much as $108,945, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Rock Island Today.

The projection assumes Thompson received $2,289 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Thompson will have already received $7,076 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.