Illinois Tool Works Faces Class Complaint Over 401(k) Plan Fees

Equipment manufacturer Illinois Tool Works Inc. is the latest employer to be accused by workers of 401(k) plan mismanagement, according to a proposed class action filed in a Chicago federal court.

Illinois Tool failed to appropriately monitor the administrative fees in its $3.6 billion 401(k) plan, plan participant Stacy Russell alleged in the complaint. The plan’s annual administrative fees were as high as $96 per person, when reasonable annual fee would be closer to $20 per person, Russell claims.

Russell’s lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, also challenges the plan’s custom target ...