VERIZON PENSION RISK TRANSFER CLASS ACTION

Dempsey, et al. v. Verizon Communications Inc., et al

United States District Court, Southern District of New York
Case No. 1:24-cv-10004

On December 30, 2024, Edward S. Stone, Esq. of Edward Stone Law P.C. and Elizabeth Hopkins, Esq. of Kantor & Kantor, LLP filed a class action lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of approximately 56,000 Verizon Communications Inc. who formerly participated in one of two defined benefit pension plans, the Verizon Management Pension Plan and the Verizon Pension Plan for Associates. The lawsuit challenges the transfer of approximately $5.9 billion in pension liabilities to the Prudential Insurance Company of America (PICA) and RGA Insurance Company (RGA), alleging breaches of fiduciary duty and prohibited transaction claims under ERISA. A copy of the Complaint filed in this action can be found here.

The suit alleges that the pension risk transfer to PICA and RGA:

“resulted in all 56,000 of these retirees losing all of the uniform protections intended by Congress under ERISA, including the Federal backstop provided to all ERISA protected plans by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”).”

Defendants in the lawsuit are Verizon Communications Inc., the Verizon Employee Benefits Committee, as Plan Administrator, Verizon California Inc., as Plan Sponsor of the Verizon Plan for Associates, Verizon Corporate Services Group Inc., as Plan Sponsor of the Verizon Management Pension Plan, and State Street Global Advisors Trust Co., who acted as independent fiduciary to the retirement plans.

Plaintiffs are Maureen Dempsey, Heinz E. Schlenkermann, and Chris Shelton.

For more information, please contact Edward S. Stone, Esq. at eddie@edwardstonelaw.com