Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Carla Buchanan, who retired in January 2019, saved $179,128 toward a pension over 34 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Buchanan would collect as much as $1.77 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Buchanan received $37,248 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 5 years of retirement, Buchanan will have already received $197,752 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.