Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Valarie Martin, who retired in January 2016, saved $48,632 toward a pension over 19 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Martin would collect as much as $815,063, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Martin received $17,132 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Martin will have already received $52,953 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.