Industry Experts Debate ERISA Litigation Reform in Recent Hearing

A December 2, 2025 hearing, titled “Pension Predators: Stopping Class Action Abuse Against Workers’ Retirement,” was convened by Subcommittee Chair Rick Allen (R-GA) before the House Education and Workforce Committee and the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions. Expert witnesses claimed that, since a recent Supreme Court decision that may make it easier for plaintiffs’ firms to bring lawsuits alleging ERISA-prohibited transactions and survive motions to dismiss, the constant threat of lawsuits is reshaping fiduciary decision-making long before cases ever reach a courtroom.

Among those testifying was Lynn Dudley, Senior Vice President of Global Retirement and Compensation Policy at the American Benefits Council, who highlighted how litigation fears can constrain sponsors’ ability to adopt innovative plan features that might benefit participants, such as decisions to offer lifetime income options. Witnesses also argued that plaintiff lawyers, not workers, are often the primary beneficiaries of these suits. They noted that many cases are brought repeatedly across the country by a small set of firms with nearly identical, “cookie-cutter” complaints. 

Other witnesses, including William Alvarado Rivera of the AARP Foundation, however, argued that rigorous ERISA enforcement and resulting lawsuits have historically improved plan practices and outcomes for participants by helping to ensure that fiduciaries meet their obligations. Rivera also contended that “[r]equiring that plan participants plead information that lies solely within the control of fiduciaries at the outset of a case improperly shifts the burden in ERISA cases.” He added that this requirement would effectively shut out potentially meritorious claims and enable fiduciaries to evade responsibility for ERISA violations. 

Sources:

• https://www.napa-net.org/news/2025/11/house-to-examine-pension-predators-as-erisa-pleading-standards-bill-unveiled
  
• https://fine.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=109   
  
• https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/6084/text   
  
• https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/the-evolution-of-defined-contribution-6334019 
  
• https://www.plansponsor.com/house-members-spar-about-curbing-erisa-litigation
  
• https://www.asppa-net.org/news/2025/12/retirement-plan-innovation-stymied-by-erisa-litigation-say-witnesses/    

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