Kellogg, FedEx Get Boost in Married Worker Pension Rehearing Bid

A recent decision reviving lawsuits challenging how Kellogg Co. and FedEx Corp. calculate pensions for married workers may get another look, after the Sixth Circuit ordered retirees to respond to the companies’ rehearing petitions.

Pensions that include post-death payments for a worker’s surviving spouse are legally required to be the “actuarial equivalent” of a traditional, single-life pension, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit said in a 2-1 opinion issued in March. This actuarial equivalence requirement may not be met if a married worker’s pension is calculated using out-of-date life expectancy data, the court said, reversing the dismissal ...