Former state school employee Bonnie Zbaraz, who retired in June 2018, saved $138,699 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, Zbaraz would collect as much as $2.82 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes North Cook News.

The projection assumes Zbaraz received $59,206 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Zbaraz will have already received $182,999 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.