Former state university employee Elizabeth Cromwell, who retired in April 2018, saved $56,578 toward a pension over 20 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Cromwell would collect as much as $956,888, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Cromwell received $20,113 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Cromwell will have already received $62,166 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.