Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Sharon Smith, who retired in April 2017, saved $16,707 toward a pension over 13 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Smith would collect as much as $991,627, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Smith received $20,843 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 1 years of retirement, Smith will have already received $20,843 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.