Employees and retirees frequently receive information relating to benefits – eligibility to participate, coverage for certain medical treatment, enrollment status, anticipated benefits at retirement, and so forth.  Sometimes that information appears in formal documents published by named plan fiduciaries.  Other times it comes in response to one-off inquiries made to persons working in the HR department or employed by a third-party administrator.  A recent Fifth Circuit decision highlights the risk posed by erroneous information:  fiduciaries’ possible liability for extra-contractual relief that will make a misinformed plaintiff “whole.”
Continue Reading Providing Erroneous Information to Participants May Expose Plan Fiduciaries to Liability for “Make Whole” Relief