Defined Benefits

Lawyers jammed a courtroom Wednesday for the first hearing in Detroit's bankruptcy case, as a judge set out to decide whether anxious city retirees can slow down the process with lawsuits in other courts.

As the once-proud city of Detroit humbles itself in bankruptcy court, its financial future may hinge on this key question: Is the city obliged to its past? Or can Detroit renege on its promises to thousands of retirees for the sake of its present city services?

The federal judge overseeing Detroit's bankruptcy set the first hearing in the case for Wednesday after the city urged him to stop pensioners from filing lawsuits that could gum up plans to restructure billions of dollars in debt.

The question gnawing at public pension funds over the past few days? Who might prevail in the Detroit bankruptcy? The bondholders or pensioners?

Its U.S. Pension Buyout Index showed a drop from 109.5 percent to 109.4 percent of the accounting liability.

Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, gave his blessing to emergency manager Kevyn Orr's decision to file for bankruptcy for Detroit.