Detroit Nearing Pensions Deal, Newspapers Say

NEW YORK, April 15 (Reuters) - Detroit is near striking agreements on pension cuts for retirees, a key hurdle for a city trying to exit America's biggest municipal bankruptcy, local newspapers said on Tuesday.

A deal calling for pension cuts with groups representing former city employees could come as early as Tuesday, the Detroit Free Press said on its website.

"The two sides have made significant progress in mediation talks ...," the Detroit Free Press said.

City officials and representatives of retiree groups were not immediately available to comment on Tuesday.

But one pension fund official was quoted as saying a deal was likely but not yet agreed.

"We're all expecting to come to some kind of understanding (Tuesday), I hope," George Orzech, chairman of the Detroit Police and Fire Retirement System, told The Detroit News. "But who knows? I've been wrong before."

For details, please see: http://www.freep.com/article/20140415/NEWS01/304150034/Detroit-bankruptcy-pension-Chapter-9-Kevyn-Orr.

On Friday, Detroit's plan to get out of bankruptcy cleared a major hurdle when a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge approved the cash-strapped city's third attempt at settling costly interest-rate swap agreements with two investment banks. (Reporting by Michael Connor in New York; Editing by James Dalgleish)