2026 ERISA Litigation Developments

The first half of 2026 has seen major litigation developments in cases concerning the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), including decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, Eleventh, and D.C. Circuits.

Supreme Court Grants Cert in Intel 401(k) Plan Fiduciary Breach Case

The U.S Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge to Intel Corp.’s 401(k) plan investment choices. The case is Winston R. Anderson et al. v. Intel Corp. Investment Policy Committee et al., Case Number 25-498, Supreme Court of the United States.

Two former workers claim that Intel breached its fiduciary duties of prudence and loyalty under ERISA by choosing and maintaining underperforming proprietary target-date funds (TDFs) and private equity and hedge fund investments. The workers sought a writ of certiorari from the high Court after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the 2022 dismissal of their proposed class action by a federal district court.

The workers argue that the Ninth Circuit erred in requiring them to identify meaningful benchmarks for the disputed funds as a basis for their breach of prudence claim. Whether the Supreme Court requires meaningful benchmarks in these ERISA cases could change the course of investment option challenges at the pleading stage.

Fourth Circuit Revokes Class Certification in Genworth 401(k) Plan Case

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit reversed and vacated a lower court’s 2024 class certification decision. The case involves two former Genworth workers who filed suit in 2022 claiming that losses from underperforming BlackRock Inc. target-date funds (TDFs) resulted from Genworth’s breach of the fiduciary duty of prudence under ERISA.

According to the Fourth Circuit panel, the fund investors’ varying experiences with the investments substantially diluted the commonality required for class certification. The lower court had approved a no-opt-out-class of over 4,000 current and former Genworth 401(k) plan participants who invested in the BlackRock TDFs between August 2016 and 2024.

The Genworth decision has had a direct impact on class actions in the Fourth Circuit that involve defined-contribution plans. For instance, the decision in Peter Trauernicht v. Genworth Financial Inc., Case Number 24-1880, another district court judge vacated class certification in a similar 401(k) fund suit against an electric utility trade group. Nationwide also has filed a motion to decertify a class of 401(k) plan participants in an Ohio court case, citing the Fourth Circuit’s ruling.

Fifth Circuit Grants Rehearing in Aramark-Aetna Arbitration Dispute

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has granted Aetna’s petition for rehearing en banc in its appeal over an arbitration provision in an ERISA case. In Aramark Services Inc. Group Health Plan et al. v. Aetna Life Insurance Co., Case Number 24-40323, Aetna is seeking to force Aramark to arbitrate a dispute over its claims that the health plan administrator improperly paid over $200 million in medical services and retained millions in undisclosed fees.

Aramark originally filed suit against Aetna in September 2023. A Texas federal district court judge rejected Aetna’s motion for arbitration in April 2024, and on appeal, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit affirmed the court order denying arbitration. As the Fifth Circuit hears only a few cases en banc each year, experts note that the U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether to hear an ERISA case involving similar issues filed by ex-Ruby Tuesday executives.

U.S. Supreme Court Affirms Decision Favoring Multiemployer Pension Fund in Withdrawal Liability Fight

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously affirmed a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in favor of a multiemployer pension fund. The decision permits actuaries for multiemployer plans to change assumptions concerning their withdrawal liability calculations retroactively. As a result, employers that withdraw from the plan are likely to incur increased withdrawal liability.

After the D.C. Circuit found favorably for the IAM National Pension Fund in its dispute over withdrawal liability for four withdrawing employers, the Supreme Court granted a petition for review by the employers, which were led by M&K Employee Solutions LLC and Ohio Magnetics Inc. IAM had sued the employers after they pulled out of the plan at various times dating back to 2018.

The case attracted multiple amicus briefs from multiemployer plans, actuaries, and the U.S. Department of Labor supporting IAM, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the HR Policy Association supporting the employers.

The case is M&K Employee Solutions LLC et al. v. Trustees of the IAM National Pension Fund, Case Number 23-1209, Supreme Court of the United States.

Eleventh Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Proposed ERISA Class Action Over Mortality Tables

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently reversed a Georgia federal court’s 2024 decision in Drummond et al. v. Southern Co. Services Inc. et al., Case Number 24-12773. Adopting the approach of the Sixth Circuit in similar cases earlier this year involving Kellogg and FedEx, the Eleventh Circuit held that mortality assumptions that actuaries use in annuity conversions for retirees must be reasonable. The ruling revived claims against Southern Company Services, Inc. and remanded the case to the federal district court for further proceedings. Experts predict that other circuit courts considering the issue in the future are more likely to follow the lead of the Sixth and Eleventh Circuits than reject it.

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