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ARTICLE · 30 OCTOBER 2025

The Current Trends In Actuarial Equivalent Suits

Holland & Knight
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Large pension plans have been facing a wave of lawsuits from participants since 2018 relating to whether the qualified joint and survivor annuities (QJSA) and other forms of annuities provided...

United StatesEmployment and HR
Chelsea Ashbrook McCarthy
Chelsea Ashbrook McCarthy
Victoria Zerjav
Victoria Zerjav
Allison Richter
Allison Richter
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Highlights

  • Managers of large pension plans have been facing a wave of lawsuits from participants since 2018 relating to whether the qualified joint and survivor annuities (QJSA) and other forms of annuities provided by the plans are the "actuarial equivalent" of the single life annuities (SLA) offered under the plans.
  • A group of such cases that were dismissed by district courts but are on appeal in the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Sixth and Eleventh Circuits have renewed focus on what the mandate of "actuarial equivalent" under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) requires when a plan converts an SLA to a QJSA.
  • This Holland & Knight alert reviews where these cases stand and what they could mean for defined benefit plan sponsors in the future.

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