Justices Appear to Slam Door on Most Pension Plan Litigation

A Supreme Court decision this week may have essentially put an end to lawsuits that allege corporate pension plans are being mismanaged.

The court’s 5-4 decision set the bar so high for future cases challenging how defined-benefit pension plans are run that attorneys say litigation seems unlikely, leaving beneficiaries with no way to recoup plan losses unless those losses are so great that it jeopardizes how much they’re getting each month in retirement.

“If you have a fiduciary who’s doing something, whether it is outright theft or just that they have not managed the plan well, and even if ...