Metro East Sun

Former state university employee Carolyn Turner, who retired in January 2016, saved $81,345 toward a pension over 27 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Turner would collect as much as $2.58 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Metro East Sun.

The projection assumes Turner received $54,143 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Turner will have already received $109,910 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.