Yale Says 403(b) Plan Changes Not a Result of Ongoing Litigation

Yale University has made changes to its retirement plan, including simplifying investment options.

The Yale News reports that staff will be automatically enrolled into a new default investment option, the Yale Target-Date Plus Service.  The plan also now provides for 11 different investment options, including a new self-directed brokerage account (SDBA). According to the news report, the plan previously provided more than 100 investment options.

Yale is currently involved in a lawsuit challenging recordkeeping and investment fees for its 403(b) plan. Among other things, the lawsuit alleges that the defendants offered too many investment options in the plan, resulting in decision paralysis, higher costs, and dilution of Yale’s bargaining power. The plaintiffs also allege that the defendants imprudently retained poor-performing investments in the plan.

A university spokesperson told Yale News that the changes to the retirement plan were not in response to the ongoing litigation, explaining that the policy revisions were underway before the lawsuit was filed.