Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Kathleen Freeburg, who retired in September 2016, saved $40,156 toward a pension over 9 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Freeburg would collect as much as $616,274, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Freeburg received $12,953 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Freeburg will have already received $54,191 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.