Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Angela Smith, who retired in January 2016, saved $20,146 toward a pension over 9 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Smith would collect as much as $325,604, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Smith received $6,843 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Smith will have already received $21,150 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.