Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Susan Wells, who retired in April 2019, saved $42,823 toward a pension over 5 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Wells would collect as much as $1.64 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Wells received $34,476 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Wells will have already received $69,986 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.