Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Cynthia Johnson, who retired in March 2016, saved $55,868 toward a pension over 21 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Johnson would collect as much as $1.01 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Johnson received $21,206 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Johnson will have already received $65,545 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.