Retirement & Benefits

The North Carolina–based hospital system was sued by a former employee, who alleges that WakeMed used “forfeited funds to reduce company contributions to the plan” instead of using the funds to reduce "the amounts charged to plan participants” for administrative services.

This latest forfeiture lawsuit dismissal aligns with recent decisions from other federal courts rejecting challenges to employer use of forfeited funds from departing, unvested employees.

Plan sponsors must benchmark their available investments yearly and replace the underperforming funds, according to Abernathy Daley 401k Consultants.

The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act for the first time establishes federal guardrails for digital assets pegged to the U.S. dollar.

The dismissal of the lawsuit alleging JPMorgan Chase misused departing employees’ “forfeited” funds aligns with other federal judges’ rejections of the misuse claim under ERISA.

This week, Cigna was again sued for fiduciary violations for using forfeited funds to reduce employer contributions to the plan, following a similar suit last month. What’s surprising is that another health insurer, UnitedHealth, is now facing two similar 401(k) lawsuits.

This class-action suit is one of 50 filed in the past two years by employees challenging how employers use the “forfeited funds” from departing employees who leave before they are vested in the retirement plan.

In 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor warned fiduciaries to “exercise extreme care” before adding a cryptocurrency option to their plans. Today the agency has rescinded that guidance.