Former state university employee Pamela Johnson, who retired in April 2019, saved $1,773 toward a pension over 16 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Johnson would collect as much as $51,381, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Sangamon Sun.

The projection assumes Johnson received $1,080 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Johnson will have already received $2,192 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.