The conglomerate announced its plan to halt pensions for non-union workers shortly after IBM's announcement that it will resurrect defined-benefit plans.
The lawsuit alleges that CFO John Rex interfered, for "commercial" reasons, with a decision by the company's investment committee to drop a set of target-date funds.
IBM's recent announcement that it is switching to a "hybrid" model of defined-benefit plan could make the case that bringing back a modern take on the classic retirement benefit could support retention in a tight labor market.
The ERISA Industry Committee, which represents the largest employers in the U.S., is calling on Congress to re-examine the premiums paid by companies that sponsor defined-benefit plans.
Once a leader in the shift from defined-benefit plans to defined-contribution plans, the tech giant is now switching employees to retirement benefit accounts.
Private pension funds are not as fragile as state and municipal pensions because they have tighter regulatory rules that govern their accounting and contribution rate requirements, according to Equable Institute.