WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that a chemical company may be able to cut the health benefits of its retired workers, unanimously reversing an appeals court ruling that said the benefits had vested for life.

“Courts should not construe ambiguous writings to create lifetime promises,” Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the court, adding that “retiree health care benefits are not a form of deferred compensation.”

via Supreme Court Rules Against Retirees in Union Health Benefits Case – NYTimes.com

Sign up for a job, work til retirement, part of the deal: pensioners get full health benefits. Now, those benefits: revoked thanks to the Roberts court.