Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee James Michaels, who retired in January 2018, saved $38,013 toward a pension over 21 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Michaels would collect as much as $910,262, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Michaels received $19,133 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Michaels will have already received $38,840 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.