Prairie State Wire

Former state school employee Gilbert Sanchez, who retired in March 2018, saved $17,997 toward a pension over 3 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Sanchez would collect as much as $552,556, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Prairie State Wire.

The projection assumes Sanchez received $11,614 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Sanchez will have already received $23,576 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.