Thread regarding Northern Trust Corp. layoffs

A federal judge in Philadelphia has denied a request by PPL Corp. to dismiss an ERISA lawsuit by current and former employees who criticized four PPL retirement plans for using a target-date series from Northern Trust that they say was a poor-performer compared with similar target-date series.
The court concludes that the complaint sufficiently alleges that defendants breached their duty by retaining the (Northern Trust) Focus Funds," U.S. District Judge Mia Roberts Perez wrote March 12. The plans retained that target-date series from 2013 through June 2020, according to her ruling.
The judge agreed with the plaintiffs' argument that PPL could have chosen a less-expensive share class because plans' assets gave plan executives bargaining power. "Plaintiffs have set forth a plausible finding of breach" of fiduciary duty, Perez wrote.
The plans covered by the lawsuit are the PPL Employee Savings Plan, PPL Deferred Savings Plan, PPL Employee Stock Ownership Plan, and the LG&E and KU Savings Plan. They are "overseen by the same fiduciaries and appointing fiduciaries and maintained, in all relevant respects, the same investment options available for participants," the original complaint said.
The plans' assets are held in the PPL Defined Contribution Master Trust, Allentown, Pa., which had combined assets of $1.7 billion as of Dec. 31, 2022, according to the latest Form 5500.
https://www.pionline.com/courts/lawsuit-against-ppl-over-target-date-funds-can-proceed-judge-says