Anthem Workers Advance Challenge to 401(k) Plan Fees

Anthem Inc.'s pension committee must defend allegations that the company’s 401(k) plan carried excessive fees (Bell v. Pension Comm. of ATH Holding Co., 2017 BL 92116, S.D. Ind., No. 1:15-cv-02062-TWP-MPB, 3/23/17).

The proposed class action accuses the committee of including high-fee mutual fund share classes in Anthem’s 401(k) plan and paying excessive record-keeping fees to Vanguard Group Inc. A federal judge largely denied the committee’s motion to dismiss on March 23, saying that choosing high-fee share classes when identical lower-fee classes were available could constitute fiduciary breach under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

This victory ...