ERISA Litigation: Reclaim Your Benefits

ERISA litigation is constantly evolving. Complex legal challenges involving plan management, investment choices, and fiduciary responsibilities continue to appear in the courts. Under ERISA, the company that sponsors the plan (e.g., the employer) and the people who manage the plan or have authority over the plan’s assets have a fiduciary duty to act solely to the interests of the plan participants and their beneficiaries. Under ERISA, fiduciaries must administer the plans according to the applicable plan documents, but only if those are compliant with ERISA. When a plan’s terms violate ERISA’s rules or when fiduciaries breach their duties, there is potential for ERISA litigation.

Motley Rice’s consumer protection attorneys represent plaintiffs in ERISA litigation in these areas:

• Pension calculation and accrual litigation
  Defined benefit pension plans provide employees with a fixed annuity during retirement. ERISA provides several layers of protection to help employees receive the benefits that they earned. Pension plans must offer married employees the option of receiving their pension in a form providing a survivor benefit for the employee’s spouse, and plans cannot excessively reduce benefits for employees who retire early. ERISA requires that the spousal benefits or early retirement benefits provide employees an equivalent actuarial value to the pension that they earned. ERISA also imposes strict rules about how employers calculate some types of pension benefits, including under “level income options” that interplay with an employee’s Social Security benefits. Motley Rice attorneys are currently leading several ERISA class actions concerning how employers calculate pension benefits, including against UPS, FedEx, DuPont and Kohler.
• Deferred compensation plans
  Deferred compensation plans allow employees to defer a portion of their income to a future date. But some companies, including in the financial services industry, use deferred compensation plans to punish employees who join a different company, forcing employees to forfeit deferred compensation in violation of ERISA’s vesting rules. Motley Rice attorneys have been involved in many significant ERISA cases involving the forced forfeiture of deferred compensation, including serving as co-lead counsel in Berry v. Wells Fargo, securing a $79 million settlement in 2020 on behalf of former Wells Fargo financial advisors, and are currently representing former Morgan Stanley advisors in more than a dozen FINRA arbitrations about whether their deferred compensation was vested under ERISA.
• 401(k) retirement plan litigation
  Employer-offered 401(k) investment plans have become the primary way that many Americans save for retirement. ERISA protects employees’ retirement savings by requiring companies to offer prudent investment options to help employees save. Unfortunately, some employers continue to offer under-performing investment options and cut sweetheart deals with the Wall Street firms that over charge employees. These seemingly “small” dollar amounts add up over time and significantly affect employees’ retirement savings. In some instances, litigation may be the best option to recover the retirement savings that your employer did not protect.
• Health care plan litigation
  ERISA protects employees covered by their employer’s health insurance against hidden overcharges and requires that accurate information be provided about what care is covered by insurance. Motley Rice attorneys have represented employees in cases alleging illegal, hidden fees that insurance companies do not want you to know about. 

Led by Douglas Needham, our ERISA team offers clients a wealth of experience in managing complex cases about employee benefits, executive compensation, and insurance coverage under ERISA. Our attorneys understand the interests of plaintiffs in ERISA litigation and use strategic and targeted means to pursue the responsible parties and hold them accountable.