Carbondale Reporter

Former state university employee Tracy Elliott Thompson, who retired in September 2016, saved $68,635 toward a pension over 31 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Elliott Thompson would collect as much as $1.72 million, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes Carbondale Reporter.

The projection assumes Elliott Thompson received $36,105 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 2 years of retirement, Elliott Thompson will have already received $73,293 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.