Grocer Hy-Vee Is Latest Employer Sued Over 401(k) Fees, Funds

Hy-Vee Inc. was sued in federal court by five former employees who say the Iowa-based grocery chain mismanages its $2.3 billion 401(k) plan by filling it with overly expensive funds and failing to rein in excessive administrative fees.

Hy-Vee’s plan offers funds with expense ratios well above industry averages, and the plan’s total costs are “much higher than those of its peers,” plan participant Theresa L. Rodriguez said in a proposed class action complaint. Rodriguez says these factors show the plan was poorly run and lacked a prudent process in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

Rodriguez’s lawsuit, ...