West Central Reporter

Former state university employee Joann Hairston Jones, who retired in July 2016, saved $38,553 toward a pension over 12 years working for state universities, State Universities Retirement System of Illinois records show.

Over 30 years of retirement, Hairston Jones would collect as much as $579,719, according to a projection by Local Government Information Services (LGIS), which publishes West Central Reporter.

The projection assumes Hairston Jones received $12,185 in the first year of retirement, then 3 percent annual increases thereafter, compounded.

After 4 years of retirement, Hairston Jones will have already received $50,980 in retirement benefits, or more than the sum total of the retiree's contributions to the state pension fund.