Over 30 years of retirement, Harper would collect as much as $1.04 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Southern Illinois News.
The projection assumes Harper received $21,840 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.
After 3 years of retirement, Harper will have already received $67,505 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the teachers' pension fund.