JD

By Nevin E. Adams, JD 7/27/2023

A federal appellate court has backed the ruling of a lower court, finding that a 401(k) plan’s investment consultant acted prudently, and in the interests of participants in decisions regarding a proprietary CIT. The former participant/plaintiff here (one Benjamin Reetz) claimed that the... READ MORE

Suit Says Fiduciaries of $700 Million 401(k) Fell Short

By Nevin E. Adams, JD 7/27/2023

A new excessive fee suit challenges the imprudent selection of share classes, the poor selection of a stable value offering AND exorbitant recordkeeping fees. Here we have one participant-plaintiff Robert Humphries suing based on the actions (or lack thereof) of the fiduciaries of the $700... READ MORE

(How) Has COVID Changed Retirement Expectations?

By Nevin E. Adams, JD 7/24/2023

A new study reviews data from two databases[1] to see how (if?) retirement expectations have been impacted by the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. The research—titled “Retirement Expectations vs. Reality: Factors that Impact Retirement Decisions” and authored by Liu, Zhikun Liu, David... READ MORE

$30 Million Settlement Set in TDF Fund Suit

By Nevin E. Adams, JD 7/19/2023

Just ahead of a scheduled trial date, the parties in a fiduciary breach suit involving a $30 billion master trust have come to terms. The suit—filed in February 2016 by Melina N. Jacobs—alleged that the fiduciary defendants of the Verizon Master Savings Trust violated their fiduciary duty of... READ MORE

DST Suit Settles for $124.6 Million

By Nevin E. Adams, JD 7/19/2023

A “painstakingly negotiated global Settlement” of some $124 million involving multiple suits (and the involvement of the Labor Department) has been reached in a long-standing ERISA suit. The original suit was filed in March 2016 by Clive Cooper, a former employee (and participant) of DST Systems,... READ MORE

Are Millennials’ Retirements ‘Doomed?’

By Nevin E. Adams, JD 7/17/2023

Millennials have had a rough week of it, at least in the financial press. First there was a report that they had established asset allocations that mirrored that of their grandparents (the respondents apparently never heard of a target-date fund). Then a separate survey that indicated they (70% of... READ MORE

Settlement Struck in 401(k) Deferral Suit

By Nevin E. Adams, JD 7/14/2023

The parties involved in a suit challenging the ability to defer more to a 401(k) have come to terms, with a settlement of roughly $1.5 million. The suit (Baird v. Hyatt Corp., C.D. Cal., No. 2:22-cv-01620, complaint 3/10/22), filed by one Lance Baird, accused his employer, Hyatt Corporation, of... READ MORE

The Fear of Finding Out

By Nevin E. Adams, JD 7/10/2023

I hadn’t been to the dentist in a long time. A VERY long time. Two weeks ago, and at the encouragement of my wife, I finally went back to the dentist. I hadn’t been since COVID, and that period provided a very good excuse for avoiding that visit. Turns out, I hadn’t been for quite a while before... READ MORE

Judicial Recommendation Reins in ‘Rollover Rule’

By Nevin E. Adams, JD 7/5/2023

A federal magistrate judge has recommended curtailment of a key rollover provision of the Labor Department’s investment advice regulation. The recommendation of U.S. Magistrate Judge Rebecca Rutherford comes in a 75-page “findings, conclusions, and recommendations” in response to a suit filed last... READ MORE

Baby ‘Steps’

By Nevin E. Adams, JD 7/3/2023

I recently ran across a survey that claimed 7 in 10 DC plan sponsors were “taking steps” to solve the retirement income challenge… but that looks to have been “aspirational.” While the survey’s[1] intro cautioned that there was more to be done, that struck me as a remarkably high (and reassuring)... READ MORE

Independence Gaze

By Nevin E. Adams, JD 7/3/2023

Once again, the nation will celebrate Independence Day—though of course independence didn’t actually occur on July 4. Let’s face it, the Declaration of Independence[1] was little more than that—a declaration. One that had yet to be backed by anything beyond the artfully crafted and narrow... READ MORE

Excessive Fee Suit Takes Some New Tacks

By Nevin E. Adams, JD 6/30/2023

The allegations in a new excessive fee suit are familiar—but the plaintiff has clearly been attentive to pleading failures that have led to other, similar cases being dismissed. Commenting that “the proliferation of 401(k)plans has exposed workers to big drops in the stock market and high fees... READ MORE

Plaintiffs Target a Different Target-Date Fund

By Nevin E. Adams, JD 6/28/2023

Another target-date fund family has been…targeted…in a fiduciary breach suit that claims plan fiduciaries failed to prudently review—and remove—underperforming target-date funds. The target-date funds in question this time are the JPMorgan SmartRetirement series, while the plans in question are... READ MORE

MEP Excessive Fee Suit…Dropped

By Nevin E. Adams, JD 6/28/2023

After a lot of comings and goings, filings and amended filings, an excessive fee suit brought against a $7.9 billion multiple employer plan has faded into the sunset… The suit was filed in May 2020 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey by McCaffree Financial Corp.,[1]... READ MORE

Suit Says Plan Paid Twice Too Much for ‘Fungible’ Services

By Nevin E. Adams, JD 6/20/2023

A participant in yet another mega 401(k) plan claims participants paid nearly twice what they might have for “fungible” recordkeeping services. This time it’s participant-plaintiff Matthew A. Miller[1] positioned as a representative of a Class of Participants and Beneficiaries of the $22 billion... READ MORE

MEP Excessive Fee Suit…Dropped

By Nevin E. Adams, JD 6/20/2023

A Father’s Footsteps

By Nevin E. Adams, JD 6/16/2023

“A father is a man who expects his children to be as good as he meant to be.” – Carol Coats Like many, perhaps most, of you, as a parent I’ve tried to compensate for the ways in which I felt that my parents could have done . . . “better.” My parents led mostly through example—and powerful as... READ MORE

Plaintiffs Prevail in Persuading Judge to Dismiss Motion to Dismiss

By Nevin E. Adams, JD 6/13/2023

A federal judge has dismissed a multi-billion plan fiduciary's motion to dismiss an excessive fee/fiduciary breach suit. The defendants in this case—filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in early 2021—are the fiduciaries of the Magna Group of Companies Retirement... READ MORE

Knowledge Isn’t ‘Actual Knowledge’

By Nevin E. Adams, JD 6/12/2023

A federal judge has approved the recommendation to certify a class in a proprietary fund suit—determining that even a “well-educated, well-informed, and careful investor”—might lack actual knowledge of fiduciary breaches. The Suit The participant-plaintiff in question here is one Brian Waldner,... READ MORE

The Need to ‘Know’

By Nevin E. Adams, JD 6/12/2023

Back in the middle of the pandemic, my then 91-year-old mother was presented with two options—one a specialist recommended, the other favored by her trusted general practice physician. And of course, it was to be…her decision. This kind of thing happens all the time in the medical field where such... READ MORE

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