A federal judge in Milwaukee has dismissed an ERISA complaint against WEC Energy Group and its fiduciaries by current and former participants in the utility company’s 401(k) plan, criticizing the offering of higher-cost mutual fund share classes, failing to remove an allegedly overpaid record keeper and charging an assortment of excessive fees.
U.S. District Court Judge Joseph P. Stadtmueller dismissed the lawsuit March 29 with prejudice, meaning plaintiffs cannot refile in his court in Munt et al. vs. WEC Energy Group et al.
Stadtmueller offered no comment on his decision, which addressed the third amended complaint by the plaintiffs, who originally sued in May 2022 and sought class-action status.
Among the allegations in the original lawsuit, the plaintiffs argued that plan executives failed to “effectively solicit quotes and/or competitive bids from other record keepers” to compare their costs vs. allegedly high fees charged by the plan. Plaintiffs accused plan executives of failing to monitor record-keeping fees in violation of ERISA.
Plaintiffs also complained the plan offered “unreasonably high fees for imprudent share classes,” contending the plan should have sought cheaper share classes of mutual funds. They alleged the fees for managed account services were “unreasonable,” adding that plan executives failed to monitor these fees.
WEC Energy Group Employee Retirement Savings Plan, Milwaukee, had 1.7 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2022, according to the latest Form 5500.
