Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Era Ireland, who retired in March 2019, saved $36,786 toward a pension over 24 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Ireland would collect as much as $579,468, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Ireland received $12,180 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Ireland will have already received $37,646 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.