Former state university employee Jones Ward paid in $90K to pension fund, could collect $2.6M in retirement

Former state university employee Patricia Jones Ward, who retired in May 2018, saved $89,708 toward a pension over 30 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Jones Ward would collect as much as $2.6 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Jones Ward received $54,560 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Jones Ward will have already received $110,757 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.