Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Helen Valdez, who retired in August 2018, saved $228,951 toward a pension over 27 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Valdez would collect as much as $2.52 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Valdez received $53,004 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 5 years of retirement, Valdez will have already received $281,406 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.