ERISA & Employee Benefits | Pension benefit lawyers

Overview

Pension benefits provide crucial financial security for workers in retirement. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) safeguards these benefits by establishing clear standards for companies’ pension plans. Our team of ERISA lawyers specialize in advocating for pension plan participants to ensure they receive the benefits they are entitled to under ERISA. Whether you’re dealing with improperly calculated benefits or concerns about how your plan is being managed, we are here to guide you through the complexities of ERISA and ensure that your rights are protected.

What Are Traditional Pension Plans?

A traditional pension plan (also known as a “defined benefit plan”) is a type of retirement plan that provides a fixed, predetermined payment to employees when they retire. The payment is typically paid out monthly, and the amount of the benefit usually depends on the employee’s age, length of employment, and salary history. Employees are typically required to work for a specific amount of time before they become eligible to receive future benefits (i.e., “vested” in their benefits).

Unlike “defined contribution plans” like 401(k) plans, where employees make contributions to their retirement savings, a traditional pension plan is fully funded by the employer.  That means the employer is responsible for managing the plan’s investments and ensuring there are enough funds to pay the benefits promised to plan participants at retirement. This provides employees with a predictable source of income when they retire, typically giving them a high level of financial security and stability.

How Are Benefits Paid Under Traditional Pension Plans?

When you retire, you may have several payout options under a traditional pension plan. A “single life annuity” provides monthly payments for the rest of your life after you retire. For married participants, pension plans are generally required to offer a “joint and survivor annuity,” which provides monthly payments to the plan participant when they retire, and then continues to pay a benefit to the surviving spouse after the participant’s death. Some plans also allow for lump sum distributions, where the total value of the pension is paid out at one time. Many traditional pension plans also allow for early retirement, typically starting at age 55. However, your monthly payments will generally be lower because you’re expected to receive them over a longer period of time.

How Can Pension Plans Be Mismanaged?

The people who manage pension plans are fiduciaries, meaning they have a legal obligation to act in the best interests of plan participants, ensuring that the plan is administered properly and adhering to the plan’s terms and ERISA’s requirements. Plan administrators have many duties, including making prudent decisions about the plan’s investments, accurately applying the plan’s formulas, ensuring that any transfers of pension obligations by the employer are in the best interest of plan participants, and using correct actuarial factors to calculate benefits.  Unfortunately, mismanagement can occur when fiduciaries fail to fulfill these duties. For instance, they may use outdated or incorrect actuarial assumptions, such as old mortality tables or inflated interest rates, that can result in participants receiving less than they are entitled to.

How Do I Exercise My Right to Bring a Pension Benefit Lawsuit?

Pension plan participants have the right to file a lawsuit in federal court if their benefits are miscalculated or their plan is mismanaged. In addition to the right to sue, participants have other important rights, including the right to receive information about the plan and their benefits, the right to request copies of their plan documents, and the right to be informed about any changes that affect their benefits. If you believe your rights have been violated or your pension plan has been mismanaged, contact our ERISA lawyers to discuss your options.

Examples of Our Pension Benefit Cases

Our team of experienced ERISA attorneys has helped clients pursue and recover their pension benefits in numerous class actions. Below are some recent examples:

Urlaub, et al. v. Citgo Petroleum Corp. et al., No. 1:21-cv-04133(N.D. Ill.) – Participants in this class action alleged that Citgo violated ERISA by using outdated mortality tables to calculate joint and survivor annuity benefits for married retirees and imposing a “marriage penalty” that reduced these pensions below the value of pensions paid to single retirees. In January 2025, the court granted final approval of a $14.75 million settlement, reflecting a remarkable recovery of 87% of losses for class members who retired within 6 years of the lawsuit.

Scott v. AT&T Inc., No. 3:20-cv-070904 (N.D. Cal.) – Employees allege that Defendants failed to comply with ERISA’s actuarial equivalence requirements when providing married participants joint and survivor annuities. The court rejected defendants’ motion to dismiss the case in June 2022. Plaintiffs have moved to certify the case as a class action, and Defendants have moved for summary judgment on most of plaintiffs’ claims. Those motions remain pending in the district court.

Berkeley v. Intel Corporation, et al., No. 5:23-cv-00343 (N.D. Cal.), is a class action brought on behalf of participants and beneficiaries of the Intel Minimum Pension Plan. Plaintiffs allege that the plan utilized outdated mortality tables and inflated interest rates to determine the value of joint and survivor annuities, resulting in married retirees receiving less than the actuarial equivalent of the benefit protected by ERISA. Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification is pending in the district court.