Former state university employee Joan Nortell, who retired in December 2016, saved $23,145 toward a pension over 14 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Nortell would collect as much as $876,584, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Nortell received $18,425 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Nortell will have already received $37,403 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.