Unlike employee contributions, employer contributions to 401(k) plans do not immediately vest, but instead do so under plan and ERISA vesting provisions, generally after three to five years of service with the employer. What happens to these contributions when employees leave covered employment before that time is at the center of numerous recently-filed lawsuits, including
Smith v. UnitedHealth Grp., No. 23-2369, __ F. 4th __, 2024 WL 3321646 (8th Cir. Jul. 8, 2024) (Before Circuit Judges Colloton, Erickson, and Kobes)
Cross-plan offsetting is a controversial practice – sometimes referred to as “self-help” for third-party administrators of healthcare plans and, alternatively, “robbing Peter to pay Paul” – to which plan
Spence v. American Airlines, Inc., No. 4:23-cv-00552-O, 2024 WL 3092453 (N.D. Tex. Jun. 20, 2024) (Judge Reed O’Connor)
There has been a great deal of controversy engendered by corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives, and ERISA-governed benefit plans are becoming a big part of that debate. Corporations have increasingly focused not only on