Metro East Sun

Former state university employee Donna Murphy, who retired in January 2016, saved $21,785 toward a pension over 12 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Murphy would collect as much as $397,932, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Metro East Sun.

The projection assumes Murphy received $8,364 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Murphy will have already received $25,852 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.