Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Thomas Hendricks, who retired in October 2016, saved $20,049 toward a pension over 13 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Hendricks 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 Hendricks received $5,856 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Hendricks will have already received $24,500 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.