MassMutual settled a long running suit with a class of plan sponsors that could impact how all retirement service providers arrange compensation, and disclose compensation to their plan sponsor-clients.
In Golden Star Inc. v. MassMutual Life Insurance Co., the plaintiffs, a Kansas City-based flooring maintenance company and sponsor of two 401(k) plans, alleged that MassMutual, which had been servicing the GSI plans since 1993, breached its fiduciary duties when it received "kickbacks" from third-party mutual fund companies.
MassMutual never denied the revenue-sharing agreements. But the company did deny that it was a fiduciary, and therefore was not beholden to ERISA's prohibited transaction rules.
Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to BenefitsPRO, part of your ALM digital membership.
Your access to unlimited BenefitsPRO content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
Nick Thornton
Nick Thornton is a financial writer covering retirement and health care issues for BenefitsPRO and ALM Media. He greatly enjoys learning from the vast minds in the legal, academic, advisory and money management communities when covering the retirement space. He's also written on international marketing trends, financial institution risk management, defense and energy issues, the restaurant industry in New York City, surfing, cigars, rum, travel, and fishing. When not writing, he's pushing into some land or water.
