Former state university employee Lopez paid in $35K to pension fund, could collect $600K in retirement

Former state university employee Felix Lopez, who retired in June 2017, saved $34,584 toward a pension over 15 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Lopez would collect as much as $600,409, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Lopez received $12,620 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Lopez will have already received $39,008 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.