Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Joellen Gianoli, who retired in January 2016, saved $39,306 toward a pension over 23 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Gianoli would collect as much as $850,711, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Gianoli received $17,881 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Gianoli will have already received $55,268 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.