Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Stephen Zahos, who retired in January 2019, saved $51,464 toward a pension over 14 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Zahos would collect as much as $683,373, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Zahos received $14,364 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Zahos will have already received $60,094 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.