Prairie State Wire

Former state school employee Susan Weitekamp, who retired in January 2016, saved $145,922 toward a pension over 23 years working for public schools, Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Weitekamp would collect as much as $2.24 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Prairie State Wire.

The projection assumes Weitekamp received $47,169 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Weitekamp will have already received $197,338 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.