A lawsuit charging the University for mismanaging its retirement plans is moving forward, according to Bloomberg BNA.
The University is accused of offering expensive and unsatisfactory investment options and charging excessive fees in its two retirement plans—a $2.1 billion plan covering around 13,000 current and former employees and a smaller $980 million plan.
Last September, claims brought by University workers regarding the $2.1 billion plan were dismissed when a judge decided that the plaintiffs lacked standing because they did not use that specific retirement plan.
The plaintiffs have since added an additional party to address the lack of standing. In response, the University contended that this party also lacked standing because the amount he paid in excessive record-keeping fees was close to the $35 yearly benchmark fee University workers agreed was fair.
The judge dismissed this argument, stating that the party actually paid around $166 per year in administrative fees. Challenges to both plans are now proceeding.
Other top institutions including Princeton, Columbia, and Vanderbilt have faced similar lawsuits regarding their retirement plans recently. Of these colleges, only the University of Pennsylvania has successfully defeated their case, becoming the first to win dismissal of a lawsuit since September 21 of last year.
