Several state and local retirement funds have balked at disclosing the pensions of individual government workers, triggering lawsuits that claim taxpayers have the right to such information.

The showdown comes amid growing scrutiny of public-sector pensions as voters, many struggling amid the recession, increasingly question how tax dollars are spent in states and cities facing budget shortfalls and service cutbacks.

The California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility, a group that advocates for pared-back pension benefits, sued the San Diego County retirement fund in August after it refused to provide the names of retirees collecting annual pensions of $100,000 or more. While other counties have released similar information, San Diego maintains that state law prohibits it from doing so.

In addition, “we believe that releasing names and the other personal details they’ve asked for leaves these retirees open to identity theft, home invasion or other fraud,” said Brian White, chief executive of the retirement system.

In New York, the fiscally conservative Manhattan Institute’s Empire Center recently filed lawsuits against New York City’s police and firefighters’ retirement systems, after the funds refused to release retiree names and pensions. Three other city funds have released the information, the center says.

The police fund considers the release of members’ names “potentially dangerous” to former officers, who could face retribution for their work, as well as an invasion of privacy, said Jesse Levine, senior counsel at the New York City Law Department. The department is “in the process of resolving” the request regarding the firefighters’ fund, Mr. Levine said…

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