Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Katheryn Gallagher, who retired in October 2018, saved $82,479 toward a pension over 14 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Gallagher would collect as much as $1 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Gallagher received $21,072 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Gallagher will have already received $88,157 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.