Criminals attempting to steal employees’ benefits is not a new issue. However, the means by which they commit such crimes have changed with the advancement of technology and how benefits are paid. Two recent cases alleging breach of fiduciary duty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) in connection with the distribution of participant account balances in defined contribution (DC) plans highlight the compliance and litigation risks associated with plan losses.

In the November/December 2019 PLANADVISER article, “Cyberfraud: Must a plan’s security policies meet the duty of prudence?” linked below, Groom principal David Kaleda provides an in-depth analysis of these cases.