Defined Benefits

Is the city obliged to its past? Or can Detroit renege on its promises to thousands of retirees for the sake of its present city services?

Pension experts say that whatever decisions Detroit makes could set a precedent for retiree benefits in other cash-strapped cities and counties nationwide. To a degree, some precedent has exists, in Central Falls, R.I.

With trillions of dollars at stake nationwide, a dispute is raging over how best to calculate pension values, leaving school districts, municipalities, states and public employee groups to wonder whether they're at risk.

Provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that go into effect Sept. 9 have many pension funds concerned, perhaps unnecessarily.

Experts say the best way for cities and states to get out from under crippling pension debt is to close their pension plans to new hires and move employees to lower-cost defined contribution plans. But there are additional ways to fix the problem.

A list of reforms to help fix the public pension crisis in America today.