Washington, D.C., December 1, 2025 – Last Wednesday, The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) and its coalition allies filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in Matula, Jr. v. Wells Fargo & Company (Matula), urging the court to uphold the lower court’s decision. Matula represents a growing wave of class action lawsuits challenging the use of “forfeitures” in 401(k) plans to pay plan expenses or offset employer contributions — a practice that has been permitted under Internal Revenue Code and Treasury Regulations for more than 50 years. The statement below can be attributed to Tom Christina, Executive Director of the ERIC Legal Center.
“Plans have long followed a well-established practice of using forfeited funds to offset employer contributions or plan expenses, a practice commonly understood to be entirely permissible under ERISA. Now, after a recent rash of lawsuits, the plaintiffs’ bar is asking the court for a legal about-face despite decades of legal and regulatory precedent. Such a shift would be odd, legally incoherent, and would leave plan sponsors with no legal certainty about the plans they voluntarily offer to help their workers save for retirement. Rather than stack the deck against employers and their workers, the court can reject this case and send a strong message that it will not tolerate these legal fishing expeditions.”
ERIC was joined by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Retail Federation on the brief. Goodwin Procter LLP prepared the amicus brief, which is available here.