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In a perfect world these pensions will have been funded as they went and that money should be in a separate, untouchable account that is used only to pay the pensions. That way when a guy works for the city or company for 30 years and then retries the city/company has been putting the money for his pension/benefits away for 30 years (like a 401K) and that money is there no matter what. Sadly, that isn't how many places do it. Instead, when someone does retire and get those benefits they just add the cost of them to their budget as a new expense.
The benefits were a negotiated piece of your wage and part of your agreement to work for that company/city. In the event of a bankruptcy like Detroit's they should consider paying these people at least a reasonable part of these benefits one of their main priorities.
What is the alternative? Those people end up in the system. If a retiree gets health benefits from a pension and money and they are physically ill and need to live in an assisted living center they can potentially afford a decent one. When they lose that pension they will end up on medicaid which will be used to pay for that service and leave them with about $50-$100 per month left to spend. People shouldn't be forced to go from living in a decent manner to living in poverty and relying on the system for support just because the management of a company/city fucked up. If it can be avoided and they can be paid they should be.
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