Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Alva Cortes, who retired in February 2016, saved $17,393 toward a pension over 7 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Cortes would collect as much as $620,019, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Cortes received $13,032 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Cortes will have already received $26,455 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.