Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee John Hines, who retired in January 2016, saved $57,475 toward a pension over 18 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Hines would collect as much as $1.08 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Hines received $22,650 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Hines will have already received $70,010 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.