Thousands of Baystate Health employees will receive some compensation under the terms of a class-action lawsuit. It alleged employees were charged excessive fees for managing their retirement fund.
Baystate Health agreed to a $500,000.00 settlement with two employees representing many others in the lawsuit. Court documents show that’s about 10% what the employees say they were overcharged.
"[T]he $500,000 recovery represents 10.4% of the total estimated losses," the plaintiffs wrote in their filing supporting the settlement. "This is on par with numerous other [Employee Retirement Income Security Act] class action settlements that have been approved across the country."
The National Association of Plan Advisors, a national nonprofit organization created by and for retirement plan advisors, reports retirement plan administrators, Empower Retirement and MassMutual, charged employees roughly $70 each. That's about $40 more in recordkeeping fees than others at similar businesses paid, the article said.
This week, lawyers asked the judge to approve the settlement and schedule a final hearing.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs declined to comment and Baystate Health did not answer a request for comment.
Disclosure: Baystate Health is among the businesses who donate to New England Public Media.