Colgate-Palmolive Loses Appeal in Pension Calculation Class Suit

Colgate-Palmolive Co. lost its appeal of a decision requiring it to recalculate the pension benefits of about 1,200 retirees, when the Second Circuit on Monday said the retirees’ case is based on an “unambiguously correct” reading of their pension plan.

The dispute turns on the language of a 2005 pension plan amendment entitling certain Colgate retirees to a residual annuity to make up for benefits they forfeited when choosing to receive their pension in a lump sum. Colgate pushed for a narrow interpretation of the amendment, saying it was intended to correct a single calculation problem stemming from a 1989 ...