Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Raja Venkateswar, who retired in January 2018, saved $17,993 toward a pension over 17 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Venkateswar would collect as much as $278,601, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Venkateswar received $5,856 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Venkateswar will have already received $18,101 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.