Former state university employee Deborah Wilkins, who retired in January 2019, saved $16,947 toward a pension over 18 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Wilkins would collect as much as $382,506, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Wilkins received $8,040 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Wilkins will have already received $24,850 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.