Rhode Island public workers and retirees pushed back against a major public pension overhaul proposal Wednesday, urging lawmakers to slow down their deliberations to ensure any changes are fair.

Hundreds of Rhode Island firefighters and other public workers lined Statehouse hallways Tuesday as state leaders unveiled an ambitious and politically charged proposal to overhaul the state's hemorrhaging retirement system.

The architects of Rhode Island's pension overhaul plan said Friday their proposal won't reduce benefits that public workers have already earned, but stressed the need for a "one-time" comprehensive fix rather than piecemeal changes.

Some Rhode Island lawmakers predicted Wednesday that plans to overhaul the public retirement system will set off long, expensive legal battles with public worker unions.

Rhode Island is the nation's smallest state. But its pension problem may well be the largest in the land.

In five years, the cost to taxpayers for Rhode Island's public retirement system will more than double if nothing is done to curb runaway pension costs.