Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Sylvester Baker, who retired in December 2016, saved $12,106 toward a pension over 6 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Baker would collect as much as $234,653, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Baker received $4,932 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Baker will have already received $15,244 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.