Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Ethel Monroe, who retired in January 2019, saved $38,103 toward a pension over 16 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Monroe would collect as much as $525,232, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Monroe received $11,040 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Monroe will have already received $46,186 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.