November 06, 2026
The full Eleventh Circuit's repeal of its administrative exhaustion standard under federal benefits law was the biggest ruling issued in Employee Retirement Income Security Act litigation during October, but district courts issued some noteworthy decisions, as well. Here are four developments from last month that ERISA attorneys should have on their radar.
October 20, 2026
The U.S. Supreme Court asked Southern Co. pension plan participants to weigh in on their employer's petition for review of an Eleventh Circuit decision that revived their proposed class action alleging outdated life expectancy data caused them to lose out on benefits, indicating the justices' possible interest in the case.
October 15, 2026
A Tennessee federal judge Thursday refused to toss a proposed class action alleging that FedEx pensioners' benefits were shortchanged due to outdated mortality assumptions used to convert their single life annuity benefits into joint-and-survivor form, holding claims were sufficiently backed up to reach discovery.
September 24, 2026
The U.S. Supreme Court should resolve a circuit split on whether actuaries must use up-to-date life expectancies when converting pension benefits from one form to another, Kellogg argued, asking the justices to scrap the Sixth Circuit's answer to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act query.
September 21, 2026
FedEx has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Sixth Circuit's decision to revive two proposed class actions alleging Kellogg's and FedEx's outdated actuarial assumptions shortchanged joint-and-survivor benefits for retirees, claiming the circuit court's "erroneous" interpretation of federal benefits law warrants high court review.