Former state school employee Margaret Pipal Botana, who retired in December 2017, saved $85,974 toward a pension over 17 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Pipal Botana would collect as much as $1.38 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes South Cook News.

The projection assumes Pipal Botana received $29,108 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Pipal Botana will have already received $89,969 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.