Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee John Sanchez, who retired in April 2018, saved $1,849 toward a pension over 7 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Sanchez would collect as much as $38,610, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Sanchez received $811 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Sanchez will have already received $2,506 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.