Legal Question in Employment Law in Virginia

Retirement plan-deducted, not sent

My employer stopped sending my voluntary retirement (simple) plan deuctions to the plan provider in May of last year. The money was deducted from every paycheck, but my employer just kept it. I have a W-2 that shows what should have been sent, and my year end simple plan report which shows a drastically different amount was actually sent. I confronted my employer, but to no avail. Nothing is being done to remedy the situation. Where do I turn now?


Asked on 1/20/04, 10:41 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

R. Scott Oswald The Employment Law Group, PC

Re: Retirement plan-deducted, not sent

Given your factual scenario your employer has likely violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, and at a minimum you can compel your employer to reimburse you for the money that your employer has failed to remit to your plan administrator. An employer has a fiduciary duty to notify beneficiaries and participants promptly of the any retirement plan termination. Where an employer breaches its fiduciary duty to provide prompt notice of plan termination, harmed participants are generally entitled to payment of the terminated benefit if the fiduciary's breach was deliberate or egregious in some other manner. See e.g., Rucker v Pacific FM, Inc. 806 F Supp 1453 (1992). In your case, because your employer continued to accept your payment even though it knew that it had terminated its plan, it has likely violated ERISA and would be required to reimburse you for the benefits you paid. Call my assistant, Shaquita Wilson (202)331-2883, if you wish to discuss this further. � Scott Oswald

Read more
Answered on 1/20/04, 11:11 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Labor and Employment Law questions and answers in Virginia