Last week, retirees asked the City Council for some help before Christmas.

The Arnold family was hit especially hard when the city of Prichard, Ala., stopped sending pension checks to its retired workers 15 months ago when its pension fund ran dry. Alfred Arnold, 66, a retired Prichard fire captain, and his wife, Jacqueline, 64, a retired police sergeant, were counting on their city pensions. "Our money’s just about gone,'' Mr. Arnold said. "I’ve got a 30-year mortgage on this house that I can’t even pay next year, because our funds, our savings, are dwindling. I worked 35 years as a fire captain, and I’ve got to resolve to be a security officer at a mall just to eat.''

Credit: Meggan Haller for The New York Times