Metro East Sun

Former state university employee Peter Pancella, who retired in February 2016, saved $10,770 toward a pension over 19 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Pancella would collect as much as $229,069, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Metro East Sun.

The projection assumes Pancella received $4,814 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Pancella will have already received $14,879 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.