Walgreens Retirement Plan $13.75M Class Action Settlement

UPDATE 2:

Claims are paying out up to $41 as of June 30, 2022.

UPDATE:

• The Court granted final approval to this class action settlement Feb. 16, 2022.
• Let Top Class Actions know when you receive a check in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.

Walgreens will pay $13.75 million as part of an employee class action settlement resolving claims it mismanaged its retirement savings plan involving Northern Trust Focus Target Retirement Trusts.

The settlement benefits a nationwide Class of participants in the Walgreens Retirement Savings Plan, formerly called the Walgreens Profit-Sharing Retirement Plan, who invested in certain Northern Trust Focus Funds since Jan. 1, 2014. The following Northern Trust Focus Funds are covered by the settlement:

• Northern Trust Focus 2020 Fund
• Northern Trust Focus 2025 Fund
• Northern Trust Focus 2030 Fund
• Northern Trust Focus 2035 Fund
• Northern Trust Focus 2040 Fund
• Northern Trust Focus 2045 Fund
• Northern Trust Focus 2050 Fund
• Northern Trust Focus 2055 Fund

Walgreens is a pharmacy drug store with more than 9,000 locations across all 50 United States and territories. The company reportedly employs over 225,000 people at these locations — helping to fill millions of prescriptions each month.

According to a 2019 class action lawsuit filed in Illinois, Walgreens introduced Northern Trust Focus Target Retirement Trusts in 2013 despite a history of poor performance. Over the course of nearly a decade, the Northern Trust funds reportedly performed worse than 70 percent to 100 percent of peer funds.

Despite this poor performance, Walgreens allegedly continued to keep the funds for years and even added more Northern Trust funds to its retirement savings plan lineup. 

Plaintiffs in the Walgreens class action lawsuit claim that these “imprudent” decisions caused the plan to lose nearly $300 million since 2014 — millions the plaintiffs say could have bolstered their retirement funds by over $190,000. 

Walgreens hasn’t admitted any wrongdoing in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) class action lawsuit but agreed to settle the claims with a $13.75 million settlement deal. 

Payments under the settlement will vary depending on the amount each Class Member invested in the plans listed above. 

A Class Member’s payment will be higher if they invested more money into the contested Northern Trust Focus Funds. 

In addition to providing cash benefits, the settlement provides non-monetary relief. 

Walgreens has confirmed the removal of Northern Trust Focus Target Retirement Trusts from the plan, according to the settlement website.

The deadline for objection is Jan. 17, 2022. 

The final approval hearing for the settlement is scheduled for Feb. 16, 2022.

No action is required to benefit from the Walgreens ERISA settlement. Current plan participants will receive their settlement payments directly into their Walgreens Retirement Savings Plan account. 

Class Members who either have a $0 account balance as a current participant or no longer participate in the Walgreens Retirement Savings plan will receive their payments directly in the form of a check.

However, Class Members who wish to have their settlement payment distributed as a rollover contribution into a qualified retirement account instead of through a check payment must file a rollover form with the settlement administrator by Feb. 6, 2022.

Who’s Eligible

A nationwide Class of participants in the Walgreens Retirement Savings Plan, formerly called the Walgreens Profit-Sharing Retirement Plan, who invested in certain Northern Trust Focus Funds since Jan. 1, 2014. The following Northern Trust Focus Funds are covered by the settlement:

• Northern Trust Focus 2020 Fund
• Northern Trust Focus 2025 Fund
• Northern Trust Focus 2030 Fund
• Northern Trust Focus 2035 Fund
• Northern Trust Focus 2040 Fund
• Northern Trust Focus 2045 Fund
• Northern Trust Focus 2050 Fund
• Northern Trust Focus 2055 Fund

Potential Award

Varies

Proof of Purchase

No proof of purchase applicable

Rollover Form

NOTE: If you do not qualify for this settlement do NOT file a claim.

Remember: you are submitting your claim under penalty of perjury. You are also harming other eligible Class Members by submitting a fraudulent claim. If you’re unsure if you qualify, please read the FAQ section of the Settlement Administrator’s website to ensure you meet all standards (Top Class Actions is not a Settlement Administrator). If you don’t qualify for this settlement, check out our database of other open class action settlements you may be eligible for.

Rollover Form Deadline

02/06/2022

Case Name

Brown-Davis, et al. v. Walgreen Co., et al., Case No. 1:19-cv-05392, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division

Final Hearing

02/17/2022

Settlement Website

WalgreensERISA.com

Claims Administrator

Walgreens ERISA Settlement
P.O. Box 2009
Chanhassen, MN 55317-2009
info@WalgreensERISA.com
833-608-2386

Class Counsel

Charles H. Field
SANFORD HEISLER SHARP LLP

Defense Counsel

Sari M. Alamuddin
MORGAN LEWIS & BOCKIUS LLP