Trustees of Princeton University agreed to settle an ERISA lawsuit accusing the New Jersey-based university of failing to properly manage two 403(b) plans.
The plaintiffs and defendants have "reached an agreement in principle on all substantive terms with respect to the settlement, including therapeutic relief," Joseph J. DePalma, a partner in the law firm Lite, DePalma, Greenberg and counsel for the plaintiff, wrote in a letter to U.S. District Judge Douglas E. Arpert.
"We anticipate providing the defendant a draft of the settlement papers by next week," Mr. DePalma added. No additional details on the settlement were provided.
The lawsuit, filed in 2017 in U.S. District Court in Newark, N.J., said the plans paid "unreasonable and excessive fees for investment and administrative services."
"Instead of leveraging the plans' massive bargaining power to benefit participants and beneficiaries, (the) defendant failed to investigate, examine and understand the real cost to plans' participants for administrative services," the suit said.
The suit also complained about the plans' use of revenue-sharing when dealing with its two record keepers, TIAA-CREF and Vanguard Group.
The combined assets of the Princeton University Retirement Plan and the Princeton University Retirement Savings Plan totaled $2.28 billion as of Dec. 31, 2018.
