Edward Tedesco, et al.
v.
Bank of America Corporation, et al.
Cash Balance Lawsuit
November 14, 2007
What is the Lawsuit About?
On November 13, 2007, our office served a complaint on Bank of America
Corporation. Tedesco et al v. BOA et al.1 is about the FleetBoston Pension Plan’s cash
balance provisions. It asserts that in adopting and administering the BankBoston Cash
Balance Retirement Plan and its successor plan, FleetBoston Pension Plan, Bank of
America Corporation violated ERISA in one or more of the following ways:
(a) Hidden benefit cuts. ERISA requires honest benefit explanations and
full disclosure of benefit cuts. BankBoston converted to a cash balance pension doing
away with valuable early retirement benefits, abandoning its final average pay formula,
Moukawsher & Walsh, LLC
21 Oak Street, Hartford, CT 06106
www.mwlawgroup.com
1 The complaint was filed on 11/7/07 in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut and has been
assigned docket number 3:07cv1640(JCH). The Complaint can be viewed online at www.mwlawgroup.com.
1-888-489-9904
and ultimately leaving employees with the greater of two benefits when they used to
get both. Tedesco and Wilson claim the bank and its successors violated ERISA by
never honestly explaining the new plan and how it cuts benefits.
(b) Discrimination against older employees. Under the cash balance
formula, employees gradually earn age-65 annuities, but, by calculating the annuities
using quarterly dollar contributions to hypothetical interest-earning accounts, the
formula buys bigger annuities for younger employees and buys smaller annuities for
employees the older they get. Tedesco and Wilson claim this violates ERISA’s rule
against age discrimination.
(c) Unfair postponement of benefit earnings. ERISA says plans may not
unduly postpone benefit earnings. Benefits earned in any year may not be more than
133 1/3% greater than