AARP Criticizes Rigid Take on 401(k) Benchmarks in SCOTUS Brief

Retirement investors challenging their 401(k) investment options shouldn’t have to identify a “near-identical benchmark” to advance their case, the AARP said in a US Supreme Court brief backing Intel Corp. workers.

The retiree-focused group advised the justices to reject the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s “rigid” and “unworkable” take on the meaningful benchmark standard, which has been used in varying iterations by the Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Tenth circuits. The standard asks whether workers alleging fiduciary imprudence in their 401(k) plans have identified a better alternative that’s sufficiently similar to the fund or fee ...