East Central Reporter

Former state university employee Patricia Shonk, who retired in August 2016, saved $66,347 toward a pension over 29 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Shonk would collect as much as $1.66 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes East Central Reporter.

The projection assumes Shonk received $34,934 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Shonk will have already received $70,916 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.