Detroit’s bankruptcy struck me as a shock to the financial plans of all of the City’s retirees and pensioners. The huge backlash against Detroit is because it has filed bankruptcy in, primarily, an effort to cut the pensions of its employees and retired employees.
Workers in the private sector have had to deal with fears of underfunded pension funds for some time. Many people worry whether social security benefits will be cut by the time they are eligible to receive them. What’s different with Detroit is that people have long believed that government pensions were safe and they had little to worry about.
The message I think people should receive is to plan for your retirement. Whether or not you consult an Estate Planning attorney, everyone now has to consider how safe are their assets? How can they make sure they have enough money for retirement. Even if they work, or worked, for the government.
About Tim Leahy
Timothy P. Leahy, a partner at the firm, practices law in Maryland and the District of Columbia and is a member of the American, Maryland, D.C, and Prince George’s County Bar associations. He received his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Baltimore Law School in May 2000, earned his M.B.A. in 1993 at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, and his B.S. in Transportation & Logistics at Maryland in 1990.
Timothy brings over 10 years experience in business to his practice of the law and focuses on litigation and general practice matters. A former home improvement contractor and army reservist, he volunteers with Christmas in April and has coached for the Bowie Boys & Girls Club. He is a Board member of his homeowners association, pro bono counsel for Bowie CLAW, and a volunteer Mediator for the District Court of Maryland. Timothy moved to Bowie in 1982 and lives there with his wife of 24 years and two sons.
