Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Vernon Barker, who retired in April 2019, saved $23,282 toward a pension over 14 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Barker would collect as much as $564,054, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Barker received $11,856 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Barker will have already received $24,068 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.