Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Joseph Smith, who retired in April 2018, saved $1,288 toward a pension over 5 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Smith would collect as much as $42,817, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Smith received $900 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Smith will have already received $1,827 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.