Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Marie Tapia, who retired in July 2017, saved $25,960 toward a pension over 20 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Tapia would collect as much as $877,047, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Tapia received $18,434 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Tapia will have already received $37,421 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.