Law360 Features Article by Jerry Schlichter on the U.S. Supreme Court’s Landmark Tibble v. Edison Decision

Law 360 has featured an article written by managing partner Jerry Schlichter entitled High Court’s Tibble Opinion Matters Now More Than Ever.

In the article, Schlichter writes that the positive effects of the U.S. Supreme Court’s seminal Tibble v. Edison decision continue to be felt across the nation, helping current and former workers “save over $2 billion per year” for retirement.

The Tibble v. Edison case, which was brought by Schlichter Bogard & Denton, was “the first excessive fee case ever to be considered by the highest court in the land.”  The Court, in a rare unanimous decision, held that “plan sponsors have a two-fold fiduciary duty: first a continuing duty to monitor investments in retirement plans and, second, a duty to remove them if they are imprudent or too expensive.”  Tibble provides protections against financial abuse for an “an ever-growing population” of retirees—critical at a time when there are over 40 million senior citizens in the United States.

Tibble, wrote Managing Partner Jerome Schlichter, is the law of the land for all defined contribution plans, including 401(k) plans and 403(b) plans.  “University and nonprofit employees” in 403(b) plans “deserve the same protections to build retirement savings as employees at any other organization governed by ERISA.”  The case represented a “a clear statement by the Supreme Court that the protections for employees from poor investment choices by employers are powerful, vital and broad.”

The full article can be found here (subscription required). For additional information about Schlichter Bogard & Denton’s Retirement practice, please contact us at 800-873-5297 or sbd@uselaws.com.