Former state university employee Willig paid in $104K to pension fund, could collect $2.39M in retirement

Former state university employee Betty Willig, who retired in May 2017, saved $104,477 toward a pension over 26 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Willig would collect as much as $2.39 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Willig received $50,183 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 3 years of retirement, Willig will have already received $155,110 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.