Former state university employee Alice Agruss, who retired in October 2016, saved $34,595 toward a pension over 24 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Agruss would collect as much as $874,517, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Agruss received $18,381 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Agruss will have already received $37,313 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.