Lockheed Martin Gets DOL Backing in Pension Risk Transfer Appeal

Retirees challenging Lockheed Martin Corp.'s decision shifting pension liabilities to an annuity provider failed to show sufficient threat of injury to earn them standing to sue, the US Labor Department argued to a federal appeals court.

The company was within its rights under federal retirement law to carry out a pension risk transfer covering roughly 30,000 pension plan participants, the department said in an amicus brief filed at the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. It urged the court to find that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act sets a high legal bar for plaintiffs wishing to challenge ...