Allegations: Excessive Fees and Forfeiture Fund Misuse
At the crux of the suit is the claim that Lehigh Valley allowed the plan to bleed unnecessarily through inflated administrative fees—$115 per participant in 2018, only dropping to $75 by 2022, despite a membership surge from 15,000 to 25,000.
By contrast, similarly sized retirement plans were paying just $22 to $30 per participant in annual fees, the plaintiffs argued. That discrepancy, they said, revealed a failure to competitively bid services or negotiate better rates—essential fiduciary responsibilities under ERISA.
Even more controversial was the alleged use of $400,000 in forfeited funds—money left behind by employees who didn’t fully vest before leaving the company. Instead of using those funds to lighten the cost burden for remaining plan participants, the workers claim the health network applied the funds to reduce its own contributions, effectively offloading corporate obligations onto employees.
Class Scope and Legal Teams
The plaintiffs are seeking to represent a class covering all participants and beneficiaries of the plan from October 2018 onward. As of 2023, the plan held retirement savings for over 26,000 members across Lehigh Valley’s 32 hospitals in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
The legal battle has drawn heavyweights from both sides:
