Former state university employee Phillips paid in $32K to pension fund, could collect $496K in retirement

Former state university employee Russell Phillips, who retired in June 2018, saved $31,604 toward a pension over 19 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Phillips would collect as much as $495,545, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Phillips received $10,416 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Phillips will have already received $32,194 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.