Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Mercedes Ramirez Fernandez, who retired in July 2016, saved $65,172 toward a pension over 13 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Ramirez Fernandez would collect as much as $950,625, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Ramirez Fernandez received $19,981 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Ramirez Fernandez will have already received $83,591 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.