JPMorgan Chase is the latest employer to face a class-action lawsuit over misuse of 401(k) funds. The suit alleges that the company breached its fiduciary duty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) by using retirement plan contributions forfeited by departing employees who were not yet fully vested in the plan to “offset its employer contributions,” according to the class-action complaint, Wright v. JPMorgan Chase & Co. et al.
Rather than using forfeited funds to reduce the 401(k) plan’s administrative fees for participants, JPMorgan mismanaged the plan by using the funds “for its own benefit,” according to the complaint filed last Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The funds from 401(k) forfeitures lowered the employer contributions JPMorgan would otherwise need to make to its employees’ retirement plan, according to plaintiff Daniel Wright. The banking giant saved “millions of dollars in contribution costs” by failing to act in the “best interest of the plan’s participants,” according to the suit.
Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to Treasury & Risk, part of your ALM digital membership.
Your access to unlimited Treasury & Risk content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Thought leadership on regulatory changes, economic trends, corporate success stories, and tactical solutions for treasurers, CFOs, risk managers, controllers, and other finance professionals
- Informative weekly newsletter featuring news, analysis, real-world case studies, and other critical content
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.