Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Don Hiles, who retired in March 2019, saved $70,373 toward a pension over 13 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Hiles would collect as much as $829,524, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Hiles received $17,436 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Hiles will have already received $72,946 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.