Siemens Is Latest Employer Sued Over 401(k) Plan Forfeiture Use

Siemens Corp. is the latest employer to be sued over how it uses forfeited money in its employees’ 401(k) plan.

Siemens acts in its own self-interest by using 401(k) forfeitures to reduce the money it would otherwise have to contribute to the plan, instead of putting that money toward the administrative expenses paid by workers. That practice saved the company nearly $35 million between 2018 and 2022, according to a plan participant’s lawsuit filed Aug. 23 in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey.

“While Defendants’ decisions to use Plan forfeitures to reduce Company contributions benefited the ...