Detroit Bankruptcy Prods Cities to Target Pensions: Muni Credit
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Local officials in at least 10 states are trying to cut pensions of municipal workers, or eliminate defined-benefit plans, pointing to Detroit as a symbol of the peril of growing retirement costs.
From New York to California, mayors and county officials are asking legislatures, courts or voters to allow the changes as a way to maintain government services as pensions consume a larger portion of budgets. The pressure may help extend a rally in municipal debt of issuers such as cities and school districts after the securities trailed the $3.7 trillion municipal market for the past five years.