TIAA Fights Claims of Self-Interested 401(k) Rollover Advice

Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America defended itself from allegations that it pushes clients from low-fee 401(k) plans to expensive alternatives, telling a Manhattan federal judge that providing rollover advice doesn’t give rise to fiduciary liability under ERISA.

The clients accusing TIAA of violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act can’t make their case, because they fail to show that TIAA acts as an ERISA fiduciary, the company said in a motion to dismiss filed Monday. Making recommendations about how to roll over assets from an employer-sponsored retirement plan to a different vehicle doesn’t qualify as “investment advice” that ...