Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Edward Burdette, who retired in January 2016, saved $74,020 toward a pension over 26 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Burdette would collect as much as $1.73 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Burdette received $36,422 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Burdette will have already received $112,577 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.