Chicago City Wire

Former state university employee Mary Surma, who retired in July 2018, saved $17,631 toward a pension over 1 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Surma would collect as much as $184,687, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Chicago City Wire.

The projection assumes Surma received $3,882 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 5 years of retirement, Surma will have already received $20,609 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.