Every time a Michigan resident begins collecting a pension or turns 65, the nation's most generous tax breaks for seniors kick in.

That special treatment drains about $1 billion a year from the state's coffers at a time when it's scrambling to deal with falling revenue and looming deficits that has state leaders slashing money for schools, closing prisons and furloughing state workers.

Yet political pressure makes it unlikely senior tax breaks will be touched to help Michigan and other states' bottom lines -- even as states steadily lose more to the tax breaks as the number of older taxpayers grows.

Most lawmakers fear they'll unleash a backlash if they trim benefits, even if those benefits are costing states money they don't have.