Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Clifford Markham, who retired in March 2016, saved $25,531 toward a pension over 10 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Markham would collect as much as $356,975, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Markham received $7,503 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Markham will have already received $31,390 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.