Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Charlene Smith, who retired in September 2016, saved $34,161 toward a pension over 15 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Smith would collect as much as $623,199, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Smith received $13,099 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Smith will have already received $40,488 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.