Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Jezekiel Ben Arie, who retired in January 2016, saved $190,643 toward a pension over 21 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Ben Arie would collect as much as $3.52 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Ben Arie received $74,006 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Ben Arie will have already received $228,745 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.