Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Michael Wonderlich, who retired in January 2016, saved $19,626 toward a pension over 7 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Wonderlich would collect as much as $698,359, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Wonderlich received $14,679 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Wonderlich will have already received $29,798 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.