PNC class action alleges retirement plan participants paid ‘excessive’ fees

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PNC Bank retirement plan class action lawsuit overview: 

• Who: PNC Bank and three of its former workers have jointly asked a federal judge to certify as a class action lawsuit claims that the bank failed to prevent its retirement plan policyholders from overpaying on fees. 
• Why: PNC and its former employees agree that turning the complaint into a class action lawsuit is the best path forward to resolving the allegations. 
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Pennsylvania federal court.

PNC Bank has been accused of allowing its retirement plan participants to pay excessive recordkeeping and administrative fees, in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. 

PNC, along with three former workers who filed the complaint against the bank, have now jointly asked a federal judge in Pennsylvania earlier this week to certify the 65,000 class member class action lawsuit. 

Plaintiffs Henrena Johnson, Barbara Demps, and John McCauley have accused PNC of failing to step in to prevent its workers from paying more than they need to in fees for the company’s retirement plan. 

Johnson, Demps, and McCauley first filed the class action lawsuit back in 2020, before later submitting an amended complaint in August 2021, reports Law360. 

Workers argue PNC should have been able to keep costs in line with similarly sized retirement plans

The former workers argued in their amended complaint that PNC should have been able to keep costs for members of its retirement plan down to what individuals in similarly sized employee retirement plans paid. 

Johnson, Demps, and McCauley, in their bid for class certification, sought to represent a class of all current and former PNC employees who, since Oct. 2, 2014, have bought into the PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Incentive Savings Plan. 

The joint filing by PNC and its former workers indicates the bank has agreed that the best path forward to resolving the claims is by turning the complaint into a class action lawsuit, reports Law360. 

PNC and the former employees argue that “prosecuting separate actions … would create a risk of inconsistent or varying adjudications … that would establish incompatible standards of conduct” for the bank. 

A separate class action lawsuit was filed against PNC in May over claims the bank failed to design and maintain its website so that it would be fully accessible to individuals who are blind or visually impaired. 

Are you a current or former PNC Bank employee who has bought into its retirement plan? Let us know in the comments! 

The plaintiffs are represented by Gary F. Lynch and Kelly K. Iverson of Lynch Carpenter LLP, and Alec Berin, James E. Miller, James C. Shah, Kolin Tang, Anna K. D’Agostino, and Laurie Rubinow of Miller Shah LLP.

The PNC retirement plan class action lawsuit is Johnson, et al. v. PNC Financial Services Group Inc., et al., Case No. 2:20-cv-01493, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. 

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