Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Mel Tomeczko, who retired in May 2018, saved $88,002 toward a pension over 13 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Tomeczko would collect as much as $1.48 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Tomeczko received $31,036 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Tomeczko will have already received $95,929 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.