US Labor Department obtains court order naming independent fiduciary for 401(k) plan of defunct WA-based aerospace company

SEATTLE - The U.S. Department of Labor has secured a court order to appoint an independent fiduciary to manage the abandoned 401(k) plan of a defunct Arlington-based aerospace company.

The order, entered in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, appoints AMI Benefit Plan Administrators Inc. as the independent fiduciary for the Commercial Aircraft Interiors LLC 401(k) Plan, which has been frozen since the employer shut down operations in 2023.

In this role, the independent fiduciary will be able to distribute its assets to eligible former employees who have not been able to access their retirement savings because the only responsive company representative, Charles Pratt, lacked the legal authority needed to approve distributions. The independent fiduciary will also be able to formally terminate the plan.

"The appointment of an independent fiduciary will give the participants in the Commercial Aircraft Interiors plan access to the funds that rightly belong to them," said Liam Roberts, district director for the department's Employee Benefits Security Administration in Seattle. "We urge all workers to contact the department for assistance when their retirement plan has been abandoned and they have not received the benefits to which they are entitled."

Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, all employee benefit plans are required to be managed by named fiduciaries. Without one, participants and beneficiaries cannot get information about their accounts or collect retirement benefits. The Commercial Aircraft Interiors plan has approximately $260,000 in assets and 59 participants.

EBSA ensures the security of retirement, health, and other job-based benefits for American workers and their families. The agency is responsible for protecting more than 155 million workers, retirees, and their families, who are covered by approximately 2.8 million health plans, 837,000 private retirement plans, and 521,000 additional welfare benefit plans. Together, these plans hold about $15.2 trillion in assets.

Employers and workers can contact EBSA at askebsa.dol.gov or call 866-444-3272 toll-free for help with private sector job-based retirement and health plans.