Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Connie Elliott, who retired in January 2016, saved $47,010 toward a pension over 25 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Elliott would collect as much as $941,696, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Elliott received $19,793 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Elliott will have already received $61,179 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.