Former state university employee Shirley Sheppard, who retired in April 2019, saved $186,205 toward a pension over 22 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Sheppard would collect as much as $3.12 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Sheppard received $65,604 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Sheppard will have already received $202,775 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.