Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Willie Perkins, who retired in December 2016, saved $16,050 toward a pension over 8 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Perkins would collect as much as $273,823, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Perkins received $5,755 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Perkins will have already received $17,789 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.