Whole Foods Market agreed to pay $2 million to settle a class action alleging its 401(k) plan was charged excessive recordkeeping and administrative fees, and a federal judge in the Western District of Texas granted final approval of the Whole Foods 401(k) lawsuit settlement on January 23, 2026. The deal covers nearly 100,000 current and former participants in the Whole Foods Market Growing Your Future 401(k) Plan.1Bloomberg Law. Whole Foods Finalizes $2 Million Class Deal Over 401(k) Plan2Law360. Whole Foods $2M ERISA Deal OK’d, Class Counsel Get $666K
What the Lawsuit Claimed
Seven named plaintiffs, led by Shauna Winkelman, filed Winkelman v. Whole Foods Market, Inc. in November 2023, arguing the plan’s fiduciaries breached their duties under ERISA by failing to negotiate reasonable recordkeeping and administrative fees.3NAPA Net. Whole Foods Settles 401(k) Excessive Fee Suit4ClassAction.org. Winkelman et al. v. Whole Foods Market Inc. et al. – Complaint The plan paid Fidelity, its recordkeeper, roughly $31 per participant between 2020 and 2022. Plans of similar size at Apple, Costco, Lowe’s, Google, and Macy’s allegedly paid between $8 and $23 per participant over the same period.5Encore Fiduciary. Capozzi Adler Alleges That the Whole Foods $31 Recordkeeper Fee Constitutes Fiduciary Imprudence
The plan held between $1.6 billion and $1.9 billion in assets during the relevant years and covered roughly 90,000 to 112,000 participants with account balances. The plaintiffs argued a plan that large had the bargaining power to secure lower fees and did not use it.4ClassAction.org. Winkelman et al. v. Whole Foods Market Inc. et al. – Complaint
Who the Settlement Covers
The settlement class includes anyone who participated in the Whole Foods Market Growing Your Future 401(k) Plan, along with their beneficiaries and alternate payees, and who had an account balance at any point between November 6, 2017, and July 24, 2025.6401kPlanERISASettlement.com. 401(k) Plan ERISA Settlement
Current participants, beneficiaries, and alternate payees did not need to do anything to receive a payment; distributions were automatic. Former participants who no longer had an active account had to file a claim form by November 21, 2025.7ClassAction.org. $2M Whole Foods Settlement Ends Class Action Lawsuit Over Alleged Mishandling of 401(k) Plan Fees8401kPlanERISASettlement.com. Important Deadlines Analytics Consulting LLC serves as the settlement administrator, calculating individual shares under a court-approved Plan of Allocation. The notice describes the distribution as pro rata, but the specific formula was not detailed in publicly available filings.9ClassAction.org. Winkelman et al. v. Whole Foods Market Inc. et al. – Settlement Agreement
How Much Each Participant Receives
Individual payouts are small. The $2 million fund is shared among nearly 100,000 class members after deductions for attorneys’ fees and administrative costs. Judge Robert Pitman awarded class counsel about $666,000 in fees and expenses, roughly a third of the fund.1Bloomberg Law. Whole Foods Finalizes $2 Million Class Deal Over 401(k) Plan2Law360. Whole Foods $2M ERISA Deal OK’d, Class Counsel Get $666K The $2 million recovery represents about 17% of the plaintiffs’ maximum estimated damages.10Bloomberg Law. Whole Foods Workers Get First Nod for $2 Million 401(k) Accord
How It Compares to Other ERISA Fee Cases
The Whole Foods recovery sits near the middle of a shrinking pack. The median settlement in ERISA excessive fee cases fell to about $1.6 million in 2025, down from $3 million in 2023. More than 120 such class settlements have been reached since 2023, totaling over $665 million, with the largest recoveries generally involving claims that reach beyond recordkeeping alone.11Mayer Brown. The Evolution of Defined Contribution Plan Class Action Litigation in 2025 The Winkelman complaint focused squarely on recordkeeping costs, which helps explain why the payout landed near that median despite the plan’s size.