Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Nancy Cox, who retired in January 2019, saved $26,382 toward a pension over 11 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Cox would collect as much as $403,058, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Cox received $8,472 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Cox will have already received $35,444 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.