Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Ellen Williams, who retired in January 2016, saved $71,367 toward a pension over 17 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Williams would collect as much as $1.94 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Williams received $40,815 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Williams will have already received $82,854 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.