Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Shari Russell, who retired in January 2016, saved $77,347 toward a pension over 22 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Russell would collect as much as $1.45 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Russell received $30,392 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Russell will have already received $93,939 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.