Rockwell Automation Must Face End Pension Calculation Lawsuit

Rockwell Automation Inc. joined a growing list of employers forced to defend proposed class actions challenging the interest rates and lifespan data they use to calculate pensions, following a ruling by the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

Rockwell retiree Rickie Smith is moving forward with allegations that the company shortchanges certain workers’ pensions by using life expectancy data from the 1970s. Smith adequately alleged that this data caused Rockwell to calculate pensions that weren’t the “actuarial equivalent” of a traditional lifetime annuity, as required by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, Judge Lynn Adelman ruled Monday.

Rockwell is one of at…