Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Margaret Hoppe, who retired in March 2019, saved $40,949 toward a pension over 15 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Hoppe would collect as much as $508,105, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Hoppe received $10,680 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Hoppe will have already received $44,680 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.