401(k) plan participants sue Ricoh over fees

Participants allege the plan allowed Alight Solutions to charge too much for record keeping.

In a lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania, participants in the Ricoh USA 401(k) plan alleged the company’s board and the board’s retirement plan committee breached their fiduciary duties in connection with the plan.

Specifically, the suit alleges that the company saddled plan participants with above-market record-keeping fees.

“The plans’ fiduciaries decided to pay for administration and record keeping by adding nine basis points to the expense ratio of each fund in the plan,” the lawsuit alleges. “This had a devastating effect on plan participants because as the assets in the plan increased the record keeping and administration charges increased exponentially.”

The plan’s record keeper is Alight Solutions, based in Lincolnshire, Illinois.

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