Court OKs $30 Million Settlement Ending Challenge to Duke Energy’s Pension Plan

Under a settlement approved May 16 by the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, Duke Energy Corp. will pay $30 million to participants in the company’s cash balance plan (George v. Duke Energy Ret. Cash Balance Plan).

The settlement comes nearly five years after a group of Duke employees filed a lawsuit alleging that the company’s cash balance plan violated numerous provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

Among other things, the employees alleged that the plan violated ERISA Section 204(b)‘s age discrimination prohibition because Duke Energy factored age into the calculation ...