At a glance
- About 600 such cases have been filed in the past decade, roughly 60 a year on average, and 2026 is on pace for 120, said Salek-Raham, a principal and litigation practice leader at Groom Law Group.
- For advisers, the risk lands personally, as they can be named as defendants or asked to supply evidence in suits against their clients, Eric Dyson said.
- Fiduciaries are not legally required to keep minutes, but panelists recommended that plan advisers adopt a prudent documentation process so essential details are written down and retrievable if a plan's decisions are challenged.
Defined contribution plan sponsors faced nearly 100 lawsuits in 2025, and plan advisers are increasingly named as defendants, Andrew Salek-Raham of Groom Law Group said Tuesday.
About 600 such cases have been filed in the past decade, roughly 60 a year on average, and 2026 is on pace for 120, said Salek-Raham, a principal and litigation practice leader at Groom Law Group. He spoke in a Tuesday afternoon session, “Litigation Lessons,” at the PLANADVISER 360 Conference in Orlando, Florida.
For advisers, the risk lands personally, as they can be named as defendants or asked to supply evidence in suits against their clients, Eric Dyson said. Dyson, an executive director at 90 North Consulting LLC and a former adviser who now often serves as an expert witness, said the deposition is where the cost shows up. “The real issue is if you are deposed,” he said. “That’s a lot of time, effort and energy on your part, supporting the clients and, really, figuring out how not to get yourself messed up in the whole fray … while at the same time supporting your client.”
Plan sponsor suits: 600 in a decade, 120 on pace for 2026
Lawsuits filed against defined contribution plan sponsors; 2025 count approximate, 2026 is a pace estimate
Minutes that explain the decision
Fiduciaries are not legally required to keep minutes, but panelists recommended that plan advisers adopt a prudent documentation process so essential details are written down and retrievable if a plan's decisions are challenged.
Dyson said he sees the opposite problem from the common guidance to avoid overloading minutes. “What I see as a problem is there’s not enough information,” he said.
Committee minutes should be treated as an essential part of the fiduciary process rather than an administrative burden, he said. Minutes should show not only the process fiduciaries followed but the rationale behind a decision and how it was made in participants’ best interests, and Salek-Raham agreed documentation plays a key role.
Policy statements that do not match the reviews
Advisers were also cautioned to ensure that investment reviews align with the requirements in a client's investment policy statement, where a plan has one.
“I’ve seen a lot of poorly written investment policy statements,” Dyson said. Inconsistencies between a plan's investment policies and an adviser's investment reviews create challenges when the plan's process is scrutinized during a lawsuit.
What I see as a problem is there’s not enough informationEric Dyson, executive director at 90 North Consulting LLC
Reported by the Policy & ERISA desk from PLANADVISER. Published . Corrections