Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Debra Saffold, who retired in May 2016, saved $222,947 toward a pension over 27 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Saffold would collect as much as $3.23 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Saffold received $67,895 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Saffold will have already received $284,048 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.