Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Darlene Spurrier, who retired in January 2019, saved $72,114 toward a pension over 31 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Spurrier would collect as much as $1.53 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Spurrier received $32,076 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Spurrier will have already received $99,143 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.