Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Liesel Wildhagen, who retired in January 2016, saved $86,176 toward a pension over 28 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Wildhagen would collect as much as $2.15 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Wildhagen received $45,158 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Wildhagen will have already received $91,671 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.