Former state university employee Caro paid in $27K to pension fund, could collect $483K in retirement

Former state university employee Dawn Caro, who retired in January 2016, saved $26,985 toward a pension over 6 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Caro would collect as much as $483,111, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Caro received $10,154 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Caro will have already received $31,386 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.