Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Nivedita Desai, who retired in January 2016, saved $51,758 toward a pension over 12 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Desai would collect as much as $747,480, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Desai received $15,711 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Desai will have already received $65,727 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.