Current and former participants in a 401(k) plan offered by AmerisourceBergen have sued the drug wholesaler alleging ERISA violations in the plan's record keeping.
They accused plan executives of allowing excessive record-keeping fees, failing to compare the plan's record keepers to those in similar 401(k) plans and failing to conduct RFPs to test the market for better prices and terms.
"Prudent plan fiduciaries can easily receive a quote from other record keepers" to assess fees and services, said the complaint filed Tuesday in a U.S. District Court in Louisville, Ky. "It is not a cumbersome or expensive process."
However, the plaintiffs allege that defendants "failed to regularly solicit quotes and/or competitive bids" in the case of Dukes et al. vs. AmerisourceBergen Corp.
"Defendants followed a fiduciary process that was ineffective," said the lawsuit, which is seeking class-action status.
Plaintiffs alleged that fees charged by Fidelity Investments were "objectively unreasonable" and services provided by Fidelity were "materially similar" to record keepers and other plans. Fidelity isn't a defendant. The lawsuit said it has been the plan's record keeper for at least 15 years.
A company representative did not respond to a request for comment.
The AmerisourceBergen Employee Investment Plan, Conshohocken, Pa., had assets of $1.9 billion as of Dec. 31, 2021, according to the latest Form 5500.
