Retirement Fund For Dallas Workers Nearly Ruined

When Detroit filed for bankruptcy in 2013, the cityâ??s emergency-financial team said that high levels of retirement debt could prevent them from rescuing the Motor Cityâ??s finances. Detroit had been in economic decline for decades, and the pension problemâ??including billions of dollars in bonuses handed out while the city was hurtling toward insolvencyâ??was just one part of the depressing financial picture. Dallas, by contrast, has been one of the fastest-growing American cities in recent years. Becoming a magnet for investment and opportunity, however, hasnâ??t protected the Texas city from experiencing its own Detroit-style financial crisis. Dallasâ??s retirement system for cops and firefighters combines many of the features that have nearly sunk state and local pension plans around the country. Things got so dire over the summer that retirees began pulling their money out of the system. Itâ??s the first run on a government pension plan in recent memory.