Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Martha Kastigar, who retired in January 2017, saved $49,673 toward a pension over 21 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Kastigar would collect as much as $1.27 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Kastigar received $26,719 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Kastigar will have already received $54,240 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.