IBM Retiree Files Class Suit Over Pensions for Married Workers

An International Business Machines Corp. retiree filed a proposed class action over the company’s pension plan, telling a New York federal judge the plan uses decades-old lifespan data to improperly shortchange certain retirees’ benefits.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, challenges how IBM calculates the retirement benefits of certain workers who choose pensions that continue making payments to their surviving spouses after their deaths.

According to plaintiff Joshua Knight, IBM’s process for calculating these benefits relies on life expectancy data that’s more than 40 years out of date, causing these ...