A federal judge has approved a $69 million agreement to settle a class-action lawsuit that alleged UnitedHealth Group prioritized its business relationship with Wells Fargo over concerns that its 401(k) plan contained low-performing target-date funds, according to court records.
Judge John Tunheim’s approval on June 12 comes after UnitedHealth reached an agreement to settle the case, which was first filed in 2021.
A nurse working for UnitedHealth Group alleged that the company, its board of directors and members of the company’s investment committee breached their fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by continuing to offer the target-date funds managed by Wells Fargo Asset Management.
A UnitedHealth Group spokesperson told Becker’s in December that “our 401(k) plan fiduciaries have always acted in the best interests of plan participants, and we strongly deny any allegations to the contrary,” but the settlement will allow “all parties to put this matter behind them and move forward.”
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