In Puerto Rico, pensions' decline pits retirees against lenders
As Puerto Rico attempts to sort out its tangled financial web, retirees may face bigger cuts than those in past U.S. municipal insolvencies, due in part to an unconventional debt structure that pits pensioners against the very lenders whose money was supposed to sustain them. The U.S. territory is doing all it can to present itself as a reliable place to invest, but resolving the pensions issue will require a careful balance. Benefit structures are widely seen as unsustainable, but draconian cuts to pensioners could deepen the population's reliance on government subsidies and compound rampant emigration. By Nick Brown Members of the Committee of retired Teachers of Puerto Rico's Teachers Federation protest against the underfunding of their pension system in San Juan, March 18, 2016 In Puerto Rico, pensions' decline pits retirees against lenders