Raytheon Defends Pension Plan From Challenge to Lifespan Data

Raytheon Co. defended its pension practices from a proposed class action challenge, telling a federal judge in Massachusetts that there’s no law requiring plans to use “current” actuarial data.

Raytheon retiree Johnny Cruz accused the company of shortchanging certain workers’ retirement benefits by using unreasonable pension calculations and outdated actuarial data that doesn’t account for recent increases in lifespans. But these claims are meritless, Raytheon said in a Sept. 9 motion, because the plan’s calculations are reasonable and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act doesn’t require these assumptions to be periodically updated.

Cruz’s lawsuit boils down to the complaint that ...