Kent Mason Featured in Pensions & Investments Article on Non-Monetary Terms in ERISA Lawsuit Settlements
- Published Date: August 27, 2026
On August 24, 2026, Pensions & Investments published an article titled, “Fine print in ERISA lawsuit settlements may do more for retirement security than the payout,” where Davis & Harman Partner, Kent Mason, was featured discussing both monetary and non-monetary settlement terms and their relative impact on class members and plan administration.
The article focuses on ERISA litigation settlement agreements that provide non-monetary terms in addition to the more commonly disclosed monetary terms for class members. The article states that, in the opinion of plan sponsors’ lawyers, non-monetary provisions can reflect improvements already in the works prior to settlement negotiations or can be sources of micro-management by plaintiffs’ lawyers inserting themselves into plan management.
The article cites a January 2026 study published by Davis & Harman assessing 27 settlements in ERISA lawsuits alleging excessive fees and underperforming investments in 2025. Kent Mason is quoted to say that of the 27 settlements assessed, six contained non-monetary terms, with one that “required fiduciaries to keep doing what they were actually doing,” and two that required “one-time requests for proposals, hardly a rigorous change.”
Mason noted that “[s]ome (plaintiffs’ lawyers) have tried to argue that the settlement provides broad meaningful non-monetary relief that benefits participants,” yet the study “shows that argument to be a myth.” The article further details the Davis & Harman study reporting that the median per-participant settlement award was $67.79 with an average of $291.67, skewed by one outlier, meanwhile, plaintiffs’ attorneys receive a standard payment of 25%-33% of a gross settlement amount.
The full article can be found here.
