American Airlines Must Defend Class Suit Over Stale Pension Data

American Airlines Inc. is still facing allegations that it shortchanges certain workers’ pensions by using outdated actuarial data to calculate their benefits.

A federal judge Aug. 7 declined to dismiss the proposed class action, which claims the airline violates the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by calculating certain pensions using 35-year-old life expectancy tables. Because these tables don’t take into account recent increases in lifespan, workers who choose certain optional pension formats—like pensions that include payments for their spouses after their deaths—have their benefits unfairly reduced compared to other workers, the lawsuit claims.

American defended its practices, pointing to ...