A 401(k) plan participant has filed a lawsuit against The Kroger Co., Cincinnati, alleging the company and its board of directors violated their fiduciary duties related to one of its 401(k) plans' record-keeping fees.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati on Nov. 5 by Lisa A. Sigetich, alleges the supermarket retailer and its board violated their fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 by allowing the plan to be charged excessive fees by its record keeper Bank of America Merrill Lynch and not notifying participants of those fees, according to the court filing.
The suit alleges the defendants used Bank of America Merrill Lynch as the plan's record keeper from 2015 to 2019 when lower fees were available from competing record keepers.
The suit also says "defendants failed to properly disclose the fees charged to participants in the plan in their 404a-5 participant fee disclosure documents," the court filing said.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch is not a defendant. The firm is listed as the plan's record keeper as of Dec. 31, according to the plan's most recent Form 5500 filing. As of that same date, The Kroger Co. 401(k) Retirement Savings Account Plan had $7.2 billion in assets, according to the filing.
Kristal J. Howard, Kroger spokeswoman, could not be immediately reached for comment.
