Pension Cuts Become Reality For Detroit City Workers

Detroit city retirees begin to see reductions in pension benefits.

This week Detroit city retirees begin to see reductions in pension benefits — cuts enacted as part of Detroit’s exit from bankruptcy.

Most retirees will see a 4.5 percent cut to their monthly pension payments.

Some could see as much as a 20 percent cut in their monthly check as the city seeks to gain back interest from investments it made on retirees’ behalf, which Detroit is now allowed to do, in the picturesque bankruptcy term “claw back.”

Police and fire department retirees are taking a smaller hit by having their cost of living increases adjusted.

There is financial help available through a program targeting retirees, in hopes of preventing the cuts from pushing them below the federal poverty line.

Author

  • Quinn Klinefelter
    Quinn Klinefelter is a Senior News Editor at 101.9 WDET. In 1996, he was literally on top of the news when he interviewed then-Senator Bob Dole about his presidential campaign and stepped on his feet.