[View the story "Detroit’s bankruptcy battle" on Storify ]Detroit’s bankruptcy battle Retirees, city workers and labor unions claim “War on Pensions." Storified by AJAMStream · Wed, Aug 28 2013 14:38:21
Among the parties with the most to lose are the city's two pension funds, "which have claims totaling
$3.74 billion ..." Both funds objected to the bankruptcy filing, hoping to curtail any cuts to retirement benefits.
Shortly after the city's decision, pensioners gathered to protest, calling for the exclusion of pensions from bankruptcy proceedings.
Detroit Retirees Rally to Protect Their Pensionsajbenchich
In order to visualize how Detroit became so indebted to it's pensioners, the David Pierce and the Detroit Free Press
created the infographic below:
freep.com
The city's financial dealings have been a point of contention throughout the bankruptcy filing process.
Less-than-kosher deals haunt Detroit's pension funds http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-07-23/bad-real-estate-deals-return-to-haunt-detroit-s-pensions.htmlKaren Weise
Cronyism is a killer....Detroit's Pension Funds Dogged by Bad Deals http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-07-25/detroits-pension-funds-dogged-by-bad-deals via @BWCaroline Cakebread
What tipped Detroit from losing money to insolvent? Pension fund was victim of financial & real-estate fraud. http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-07-25/detroits-pension-funds-dogged-by-bad-deals via @BWBrad Hicks
Many online have tweeted about the cost-benefit of filing for bankruptcy at the possible expense of pensioners.
Detroit's average pension -- average, not median -- is $18,725. Is $1,500 a month for a lifetime of service too much? http://www.rscd.org/actuarial%20annual%20rpt%20GRS%202011_F-6.pdfZaid Jilani
@ZaidJilani it's a hell of a lot more than me or anybody I know who worked in private sector will get.R J
@ZaidJilani don't know if it's too much or not but its certainly possible that in some cases it is.R J
But this (retire at age 50 with $100k guaranteed for life) is unsustainable. #DetroitBankruptcy #pensionsJon Galt
@GoldenGalt Average Detroit employee retirement 19k and police & Fire 30K per year. $100k less than 20 people executive like Police Chieflliveworkindetroit
@LiveWorkPray but still adds up to $19billion in underfunded liabilitiesJon Galt
@GoldenGalt City wants to not pay debt & use money for new project That’s why they call it restructuring City hasn’t paid into pension 2 yrslliveworkindetroit
@GoldenGalt Detroit pension for new employees were converted to 401k 2 yr ago. You cannot move old Retirees not fair.lliveworkindetroit
The following tweet is in reference to news of former city employee Robert Ficano's pension, which was
approved more than 1 month after the bankruptcy filing.
I'm glad a guy get 97k pension for life after working only 8 years and is only 41 years old. Wonder why Detroit is bankrupt.Jeremy Conley
Others offered a solution:
@ZaidJilani @cate_long Good point. Leave all pensions under $25K intact. Cut those $25K - $75K by 20%. $75K and up - 50% etc etc etcMikeC
@cspanwj Easy solution to Detroit's problems: tax every pension and pay check they send out to the suburbs.Don Ritchie
Solution for Detroit and other states with large pension liabilities is a 401 K.& Helping small businesses attract capital@MittRomneyJairo Puentes
What do you think about the possibility of Detroit cutting the pensions of former employees? Tweet us your thoughts @AJAMStream. 
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