The first sentence of the Introduction to this class action is, “The essential remedial purpose of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (‘ERISA’) is ‘to protect the beneficiaries of private pension plans.’” The plan here is the Kerry, Inc. Savings Plan, an employee retirement plan. The complaint brings suit against Kerry, Inc., its Board of Directors, and its Benefits Committee, for breaches of their fiduciary duties to the plan, alleging they have not adequately evaluated fees and expenses for the plan nor properly monitored the chosen investments.
The class for this action is all participants and beneficiaries of the Kerry Savings Plan, between April 27, 2015 and the date of judgment in this case.
Kerry is described in the complaint as a “taste and nutrition” company that “procure[s] from-nature ingredients and appl[ies] food science and culinary skills to create nutritious products.” Its retirement plan is a 401(k) defined-contribution plan.
The complaint refers to an earlier case to assert that plan expenses and fees can significantly reduce the values of accounts in two ways: The account holder loses the immediate amounts, and also loses the increase those amounts would’ve generated by growing over time.
The complaint asserts that the company, its Board of Directors, and its Benefits Committee are all fiduciaries of the plan and are therefore owe it certain duties. They have breached these duties, the complaint says, in at least three ways.
High retirement plan service (RPS) fees: The complaint alleges that the Kerry defendants have authorized the plan to pay “unreasonably high” RPS fees, such as the participant account maintenance fees. These service providers do recordkeeping and other administrative tasks. Larger plans have efficiency of scale that means they can negotiate for lower prices. The complaint claims that the fiduciaries should have obtained lower prices for RPS services.
High managed account service fees: These are fees for investment services, where the provider purportedly “customizes” participants’ portfolios in some way, such as by risk tolerance. But the complaint alleges that in practice very little customization is done, so that participants receive little value for the fees. Fees are generally a percentage of the account balance.
Higher-cost fund options: The complaint alleges that the Kerry defendants kept higher-cost fund options in the plan, even though similar or identical options have been available at lower cost. Different share classes were available, for example, the complaint says, that would’ve offered greater benefits versus fees.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Employment
Most Recent Case Event
Kerry Breach of Fiduciary Duties to 401(k) Plan Complaint
April 27, 2021
The first sentence of the Introduction to this class action is, “The essential remedial purpose of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (‘ERISA’) is ‘to protect the beneficiaries of private pension plans.’” The plan here is the Kerry, Inc. Savings Plan, an employee retirement plan. The complaint brings suit against Kerry, Inc., its Board of Directors, and its Benefits Committee, for breaches of their fiduciary duties to the plan, alleging they have not adequately evaluated fees and expenses for the plan nor properly monitored the chosen investments.
Kerry Breach of Fiduciary Duties to 401(k) Plan ComplaintCase Event History
Kerry Breach of Fiduciary Duties to 401(k) Plan Complaint
April 27, 2021
The first sentence of the Introduction to this class action is, “The essential remedial purpose of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (‘ERISA’) is ‘to protect the beneficiaries of private pension plans.’” The plan here is the Kerry, Inc. Savings Plan, an employee retirement plan. The complaint brings suit against Kerry, Inc., its Board of Directors, and its Benefits Committee, for breaches of their fiduciary duties to the plan, alleging they have not adequately evaluated fees and expenses for the plan nor properly monitored the chosen investments.
Kerry Breach of Fiduciary Duties to 401(k) Plan Complaint