Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Laura Hungerford, who retired in January 2016, saved $51,830 toward a pension over 13 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Hungerford would collect as much as $2.34 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Hungerford received $49,261 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Hungerford will have already received $100,000 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.