The first chapter presents the central puzzle in the emerging jurisprudence about government pension benefits that this book seeks to solve. It explains how public sector pensions face persistent demographic upheaval and financial fragility amid a turbulent political context. With limited choices in how to shore up failing pension plans, state and local governments have been enacting legislation to trim pension benefits. Current and former government employees have challenged such reforms in state and federal courts across the United States. Focusing on the extent that pension benefits are contractual obligations protected under state and U.S. Contract Clauses as well as state Pension Clauses, this book furnishes a timely analytical lens for comprehending these contemporary constitutional controversies.