ERISA Litigation Update Center

With over $3 trillion invested in 401(k) plan accounts, the stock market playing havoc with returns on those accounts, and millions of baby boomers retiring each year, it is not surprising that litigation over benefit plans is spiking. ERISA presents a fertile ground for lawsuits involving health plans (retiree health coverage), defined benefit plans (benefit freezes and cash balance conversions), and 401(k) plans (company stock and excessive fee losses).

A series of “401(k) fee” lawsuits that were filed in late 2006 has the potential to dramatically reshape the retirement plan industry. The Department of Labor and Congress have already embarked upon reform initiatives that can trace their roots to those cases. As the courts begin to reach the merits of the claims in those suits this fall and winter, the duties and obligations imposed on employers and individual ERISA fiduciaries, and the manner in which 401(k) plans operate, may also be affected.

To learn more about these lawsuits, and to follow their progress, visit Spencer Fane’s 401(k) Fee Litigation Update Center.