Alliance Coal Hit With Retirement Plan Fee, Forfeiture Lawsuit

Alliance Coal LLC mismanaged its workers’ retirement plan by hiring an inexperienced and pricey recordkeeper and using forfeited contributions for its own benefit, according to a new federal lawsuit.

Alliance hired a 401(k) recordkeeper that lacked experience managing large plans and charged higher fees than those charged by established, national providers, three former employees of the coal mining company said in a proposed class action complaint. Alliance allowed the provider to charge excessive annual fees as high as almost $221 per person and doesn’t appear to have attempted to negotiate a better deal, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit, ...