TIAA Gets Massive ERISA Class Over Plan Loan Program Undone

Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association convinced the Second Circuit to undo the certification of a class of thousands of retirement plans in a lawsuit challenging the company’s plan loan program, according to a ruling issued Thursday.

The district judge who granted class status didn’t properly weigh factual differences among the various plan loans or the effects of certain statutory exemptions in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the court ruled. Certain of TIAA’s affirmative defenses—that the plan loans bear reasonable rates of interest and are pegged to “adequate consideration"—may not be capable of resolution on a class-wide basis and should ...