Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Carol Apperson, who retired in January 2016, saved $36,360 toward a pension over 18 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Apperson would collect as much as $650,249, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Apperson received $13,667 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Apperson will have already received $42,243 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.