Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Pamela Nelson, who retired in May 2016, saved $52,585 toward a pension over 13 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Nelson would collect as much as $733,767, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Nelson received $15,423 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Nelson will have already received $64,526 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.