Former state university employee Johnny Larry, who retired in January 2018, saved $29,242 toward a pension over 19 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Larry would collect as much as $606,381, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Larry received $12,745 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Larry will have already received $39,393 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.