Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Paul Ray, who retired in May 2016, saved $52,060 toward a pension over 18 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Ray would collect as much as $751,733, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Ray received $15,800 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Ray will have already received $66,101 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.