Dupage Policy Journal

Former state university employee Maria Atienza Gabas, who retired in July 2016, saved $42,592 toward a pension over 8 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Atienza Gabas would collect as much as $653,731, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes DuPage Policy Journal.

The projection assumes Atienza Gabas received $13,740 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Atienza Gabas will have already received $57,483 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.