American Electric Power Workers Sue Over Pension Changes (1)

Four current and former employees of American Electric Power Service Corp. accuse the energy company of shortchanging certain longtime workers’ retirement benefits by mishandling a 2001 pension plan conversion, according to a federal complaint filed in Ohio.

The proposed class action stems from a 2001 amendment that converted American Electric’s traditional pension plan into a cash balance plan with a different benefit formula. The amendment provided that “grandfathered” employees—those covered by the plan prior to the amendment—could receive benefits under the prior formula if those benefits would be greater than their benefits under the cash balance plan, subject to certain ...