Retirement Benefits Litigation

Heffner Hurst is a national leader in representing employees and protecting pension rights in class action litigation. We have represented tens of thousands of retirees and recovered tens of millions of dollars of pension benefits for our clients. Most recently, Heffner & Hurst tried one of the largest ERISA cases in history, seeking to enforce the terms of a retirement plan on behalf of 14,000 employees.

Most retirement benefit plans, such as cash balance plans and 401(k) plans, are governed by a federal law called the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, commonly known as “ERISA.” Employees have rights under ERISA that they may not be aware of. They can sue to enforce the terms of the plan, and they can sue the fiduciaries who administer the plan if they mismanage or misappropriate funds.

Here are some areas where class actions typically arise under ERISA where Heffner & Hurst may be able to help:

Benefit Miscalculations

Sometimes employers don’t pay the benefits they’re supposed to, either through honest mistakes or bad faith. If you’ve been shortchanged on your retirement benefits, and you think your fellow employees might have been too, get your plan documents together and contact HH for a free consultation.

Company Stock

Sometimes employers encourage their employees to invest in the company’s stock through a 401(k) or ESOP plan, even when it’s too risky. If the stock price drops, large groups of employees can lose their retirement savings. If you and your fellow employees have lost money in your company’s stock option, contact HH for a free consultation. You might be able to hold your employer liable for the loss under ERISA.

Fiduciary Breaches

Retirement plan administrators are fiduciaries. That means they owe legal duties to the employees covered by their plans, including a duty not to pay unreasonable fees to vendors, a duty to make prudent investment decisions with plan assets, and a duty not to use plan assets for their own benefit. If you think your employer may have breached these duties, contact HH for a free consultation

If you think you have a case or would like a free consultation, please contact us today.