Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Karen Heard, who retired in January 2016, saved $22,381 toward a pension over 6 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Heard would collect as much as $634,931, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Heard received $13,345 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Heard will have already received $27,090 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.