Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Mary Russell, who retired in January 2016, saved $38,510 toward a pension over 11 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Russell would collect as much as $776,162, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Russell received $16,314 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Russell will have already received $50,424 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.