Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Beverly Brightwell, who retired in September 2018, saved $47,805 toward a pension over 13 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Brightwell would collect as much as $755,421, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Brightwell received $15,878 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Brightwell will have already received $49,077 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.