Over 30 years of retirement, Merritt would collect as much as $850,037, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.
The projection assumes Merritt received $17,867 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.
After 3 years of retirement, Merritt will have already received $55,225 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.