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Chicago City Wire

Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Former state university employee Birkner paid in $29K to pension fund, could collect $1.56M in retirement

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Former state university employee Thomas Birkner, who retired in June 2016, saved $28,585 toward a pension over 10 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Birkner would collect as much as $1.56 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Birkner received $32,779 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 1 years of retirement, Birkner will have already received $32,779 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.

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