East Central Reporter

Former state university employee Patricia Sparks, who retired in January 2016, saved $41,646 toward a pension over 22 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Sparks would collect as much as $986,558, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes East Central Reporter.

The projection assumes Sparks received $20,736 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Sparks will have already received $42,094 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.