Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Catherine Brown, who retired in January 2018, saved $117,075 toward a pension over 27 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Brown would collect as much as $2.85 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Brown received $59,808 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Brown will have already received $121,410 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.