A former employee of the University of Tampa has sued the university in its role as fiduciary for a 403(b) plan, alleging ERISA violations for "excessive" record-keeping fees.
"The university failed to control record-keeping costs as plan assets grew," said the complaint filed April 28 in a U.S. District Court in Tampa, Fla.
"Defendant could have capped the amount of revenue sharing to ensure that any excessive amounts were returned to the plan as other loyally and prudently administered plans do, but failed to do so until just recently," said the lawsuit, which seeks class-action status.
The complaint also alleged that the university failed to conduct RFPs for record-keeping services now offered by TIAA-CREF, which is not a defendant.
"This competitive bidding process would have enabled defendant to select a record keeper charging reasonable fees, obtain a substantial reduction in record-keeping fees, and rebate any excess expenses paid by participants for record-keeping services," said the complaint in the case of Christopher Johnson vs. University of Tampa. Mr. Johnson remains a plan participant, according to the complaint.
Eric Cardenas, a university spokesman, wrote in an email that the university had no comment at this time.
The University of Tampa Defined Contribution Plan had assets of $155 million as of Dec. 31, 2019, according to the latest Form 5500.
