UnitedHealth 401k Lawsuit Settlement: Eligibility and Payments

The UnitedHealth 401(k) lawsuit settlement is a $69 million payout resolving claims that the company kept underperforming Wells Fargo target-date funds in its employee retirement plan. A federal judge in Minnesota granted final approval on June 24, 2025, and the settlement administrator began distributing money to eligible class members on October 12, 2025. No claim form is required.¹²

Who Is Eligible for a Payment

You are in the class if you were a current or former participant in the UnitedHealth Group 401(k) Savings Plan and were invested in any of the Wells Fargo Target Date Funds at any point from April 23, 2015 through the present.¹ More than 350,000 people are potentially eligible.³

A few groups are excluded: UnitedHealth’s directors, members of the plan’s investment committees, the company’s Executive Vice President of Human Capital, and their immediate family members.¹

If you held only other investment options in the plan and never had money in the Wells Fargo target-date funds during the class period, you are not part of this settlement.

How Much You Get

Individual payments are calculated using a “settlement allocation score” based on two things: how much money you had in the Wells Fargo target-date funds, and how those specific funds performed during the relevant period. Your score is then prorated against the total of all class members’ scores to determine your share of the fund.⁴

The $69 million gross fund is reduced by attorneys’ fees and costs before distribution. Class counsel at Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight and Halunen Law requested $23 million in fees plus $735,163 in litigation costs, and named plaintiff Kim Snyder received a $50,000 service award.²

Some class members asked the court to weight payouts by age, giving a larger share to those closer to retirement. Whether the final distribution formula adopted that approach isn’t confirmed in the available record.⁵

When and How Payments Arrive

The settlement administrator, Angeion Group, started distributing funds on October 12, 2025.¹

How you receive the money depends on your current status with the plan:

If you are still a UnitedHealth 401(k) participant, your payment is deposited directly into your existing plan account.
If you are a former participant, you receive a check by default. A rollover into a qualified retirement account was available, but the election deadline for that option passed before checks were issued.¹

You do not need to submit a claim form. Payments are automatic based on plan records.⁴

What the Case Was About

The lawsuit, Snyder v. UnitedHealth Group, Inc., was filed in April 2021 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota. Named plaintiff Kim Snyder alleged UnitedHealth breached its fiduciary duties under ERISA by keeping the Wells Fargo Target Fund Suite as the plan’s default target-date option despite years of poor performance. The complaint said the funds performed worse than 70% to 97% of comparable funds in their Morningstar categories over three-, five-, and ten-year periods.⁶⁷

Plaintiffs also alleged a conflict of interest: UnitedHealthcare provided health insurance to Wells Fargo, generating $50 million to $60 million over four years, while Wells Fargo provided banking services to UnitedHealth, and the 401(k) plan accounted for roughly 45% of the business UnitedHealth sent Wells Fargo’s way. The complaint alleged UnitedHealth used the retirement plan as leverage in that broader relationship rather than acting in participants’ best interests.⁸⁷

UnitedHealth denied all allegations of wrongdoing and settled without admitting liability. The agreement releases the company, former CEO David S. Wichmann, and CFO John Rex from the claims.¹ At $69 million, it is the largest ERISA settlement on record in a case built on underperforming 401(k) investment options.⁹

Questions About Your Payment

If you think you qualify but haven’t received a payment, or you need to update an address for a mailed check, contact the settlement administrator at 1-855-705-4084 or through UnitedHealthGroupERISASettlement.com.¹⁰

1
UnitedHealth Group ERISA Settlement. Snyder v. UnitedHealth Group, Inc., et al. Settlement
2
401(k) Specialist. Record-Breaking $69 Million Settlement in UnitedHealth 401(k) Case Finalized
3
Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight. Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight Wins Final Approval of Record-Breaking $69 Million Settlement
4
ClassAction.org. $69M UnitedHealth Settlement Resolves Class Action Over Alleged Mismanagement of Retirement Plan
5
Insurance News Net. Plaintiffs Ask for Age-Weighted Payouts From UnitedHealth Settlement
6
Plan Adviser. UnitedHealth Group To Pay $69 Million ERISA Settlement for 401(k) Plan Investments
7
Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight. UnitedHealth Certified ERISA Class Action
8
Plan Sponsor. UnitedHealth Group Settles 401(k) Fund Complaint for $69 Million
9
ASPPA Net. $69 Million Settlement in Historic Excessive Fee Suit
10
UnitedHealth Group ERISA Settlement — FAQs. Frequently Asked Questions