Their pensions were contracts, which like any contract are subject to change by a bankruptcy court. So it's legal for the gov't to go back on the promise of pen

Their pensions were contracts, which like any contract are subject to change by a bankruptcy court. So it's legal for the gov't to go back on the promise of pension payments. It's not ideal but the money to pay them simply isn't available. Unfortunately these workers were offered a pipe dream rather than their pension total being fully deducted from their paychecks.