Metro East Sun

Former state university employee Teresa Reed, who retired in January 2016, saved $20,159 toward a pension over 14 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Reed would collect as much as $546,298, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Metro East Sun.

The projection assumes Reed received $11,482 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Reed will have already received $23,308 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.