Honeywell Is Latest Employer to Beat 401(k) Forfeiture Challenge

Honeywell International Inc. is free from a proposed class action challenging how the aerospace technology and manufacturing company handles unvested 401(k) contributions forfeited by departing workers.

The employee’s legal theory is overly broad because it would effectively require Honeywell to give workers additional retirement benefits by covering their 401(k) plan’s administrative expenses, Judge Evelyn Padin said Monday in an unpublished opinion. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act doesn’t include an “exclusive duty to maximize pecuniary benefits,” and Honeywell’s 401(k) plan document gives the company discretion over how to use forfeitures while providing that administrative costs will be paid by ...