Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Judy Lackey, who retired in January 2016, saved $36,348 toward a pension over 18 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Lackey would collect as much as $704,496, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Lackey received $14,808 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Lackey will have already received $45,770 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.