Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Patricia Meslar, who retired in September 2018, saved $52,059 toward a pension over 13 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Meslar would collect as much as $799,266, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Meslar received $16,800 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Meslar will have already received $70,285 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.