Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee James Ricker, who retired in January 2016, saved $162,034 toward a pension over 17 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Ricker would collect as much as $2.92 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Ricker received $61,395 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Ricker will have already received $189,766 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.