Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Rebecca Lowery, who retired in September 2016, saved $37,542 toward a pension over 9 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Lowery would collect as much as $480,062, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Lowery received $10,090 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Lowery will have already received $42,214 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.