Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Carrol Smith, who retired in September 2018, saved $93,603 toward a pension over 18 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Smith would collect as much as $2.38 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Smith received $50,112 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Smith will have already received $101,727 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.