Prairie State Wire

Former state school employee Denise Burge, who retired in March 2016, saved $66,440 toward a pension over 14 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Burge would collect as much as $938,219, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Prairie State Wire.

The projection assumes Burge received $19,720 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Burge will have already received $82,502 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.