Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Alice Bernard, who retired in November 2017, saved $63,133 toward a pension over 15 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Bernard would collect as much as $860,211, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Bernard received $18,081 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Bernard will have already received $75,643 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.