Former state university employee Maria Heathcoat, who retired in April 2019, saved $50,822 toward a pension over 21 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Heathcoat would collect as much as $767,296, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Heathcoat received $16,128 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Heathcoat will have already received $67,473 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.