Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Terri Burnell, who retired in January 2018, saved $28,357 toward a pension over 17 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Burnell would collect as much as $657,905, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Burnell received $13,828 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Burnell will have already received $42,741 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.