[Poundstone]

Federal employees’ pensions are safe. Unlike states, the federal government can, if necessary, simply print more money to satisfy federal retiree pension and COLA obligations.

[MSF BU]

That's assuming the formula doesn't get changed. Long term there are many ways to diminish federal pensions. Simply placing a COLA cap or changing the frequency of adjustments (every five years) could significantly reduce the benefit. How about no COLA adjustments until a retiree hits 60 or 65 years of age. That would especially hurt law enforcement and particularly military retired personnel...exactly the types the Left do not care about. I don't support this, I'm simply pointing out various means the bureaucrats have at their disposal to reduce costs at the expense of pensioners.