South Cook News

Former state school employee Helen Clifford, who retired in May 2018, saved $95,099 toward a pension over 27 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Clifford would collect as much as $1.85 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes South Cook News.

The projection assumes Clifford received $38,846 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Clifford will have already received $120,068 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.