Former state university employee Lackner paid in $15K to pension fund, could collect $347K in retirement

Former state university employee Richard Lackner, who retired in June 2016, saved $15,030 toward a pension over 20 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Lackner would collect as much as $347,195, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Lackner received $7,297 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Lackner will have already received $22,554 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.