Amid the Coronavirus pandemic, states such as California, Illinois, Kentucky, New Jersey, Connecticut, as well as many cities and counties face pre-existing shortfalls in their retirement plans as well as legal and (state) constitutional restrictions that prevent them from reducing benefits, pension expert Elizabeth Bauer writes for Forbes, citing the New York Times.

"What happens next?" Bauer asks.

"Benefit cuts may be inevitable," Ms. Pappas told the Times. Those cuts may not be up to voters or the courts.

"She volunteered for George Papandreou, a former prime minister of Greece, when his country became a financial pariah in 2010 and had to get rescue loans from the International Monetary Fund and other European countries," the New York Times reported.

"Greece had also promised costly pensions to millions of people, but was forced to reduce benefits to receive those loans," Papas told the Times.

"They didn't want to," Pappas said. "They didn't have any choice."

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