Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Alice Ward, who retired in January 2016, saved $47,675 toward a pension over 21 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Ward would collect as much as $1.02 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Ward received $21,500 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Ward will have already received $66,454 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.