Allstate Must Face Suit Over 401(k) Plan’s Northern Trust Funds

A lawsuit accusing Allstate Corp. of mismanaging its $5 billion 401(k) is moving forward after a Chicago federal judge ruled that participants who have “cashed out” of the plan continue to have standing to sue for fiduciary breach under ERISA.

Allstate argued that former retirement plan participants lack standing to sue under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act because they’ve already received their plan benefits and can only seek money damages, which the statute doesn’t authorize. Judge Manish S. Shah of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois disagreed, saying that a “participant” under ERISA includes a ...