Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Richard Blender, who retired in September 2018, saved $16,212 toward a pension over 9 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Blender would collect as much as $442,731, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Blender received $9,305 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Blender will have already received $18,889 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.