Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Linda Conlee, who retired in January 2019, saved $55,369 toward a pension over 18 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Conlee would collect as much as $723,907, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Conlee received $15,216 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Conlee will have already received $63,656 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.