Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Mary Wheeler, who retired in April 2019, saved $10,075 toward a pension over 7 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Wheeler would collect as much as $486,411, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Wheeler received $10,224 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 1 years of retirement, Wheeler will have already received $10,224 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.