Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Deborah Meeks, who retired in June 2017, saved $42,925 toward a pension over 23 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Meeks would collect as much as $826,835, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Meeks received $17,379 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Meeks will have already received $53,716 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.