Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Barbara Shaw, who retired in August 2018, saved $53,906 toward a pension over 7 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Shaw would collect as much as $785,302, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Shaw received $16,506 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Shaw will have already received $69,054 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.