Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Kathleen Donnelly, who retired in June 2016, saved $32,031 toward a pension over 14 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Donnelly would collect as much as $1.39 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Donnelly received $29,272 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Donnelly will have already received $59,422 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.