Meijer Can Use Forfeited Funds to Lower ERISA Plan Contributions

Meijer Inc. didn’t violate the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by using forfeited plan funds to reduce its payments to its employee pension plans, a federal court said.

Meijer didn’t violate its duty of loyalty to plan beneficiaries because it could have amended the plan to allow the contested transactions, Chief Judge Hala Y. Jarbou said Monday for the US District Court for the Western District of Michigan.

Under the two plans at issue, Meijer makes a base contribution to the plans and matches 50% of employee contributions up to a specified limit. But an employee must work at Meijer ...