$9.6M Capital One ERISA Settlement Ends Class Action Over Alleged Retirement Plan Mismanagement

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Capital One has agreed to a $9,600,000 class action settlement to end a lawsuit that alleged the bank improperly managed employee retirement savings accounts.

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The $9.6 million Capital One class action settlement received preliminary approval from the court on January 13, 2026 and covers all individuals who participated in the Capital One Financial Corporation associate retirement savings plan at any time from November 11, 2018 to January 13, 2026 (the “Class Period”), including any beneficiaries of a deceased person and any alternate payees of a person subject to a qualified domestic relations order who participated in the plan at any time during the class period.

The court-approved website for the Capital One settlement can be found at CapitalOneERISASettlement.com.

According to the agreement, Capital One settlement class members do not need to do anything to receive a one-time restorative cash payment, which will be a pro rata (equal share) portion of the net settlement fund after the deduction of attorneys’ fees, administrative and notice fees, expenses incurred while calculating class member payments, and lead plaintiff service awards.

Settlement documents explain that payments will be calculated by determining, for each year of the class period, every current or former plan participant and alternative payee or beneficiary who had a positive beginning account balance in their associate retirement plan (determined by the previous year-end account balance). The total sum of accounts with positive balances will then be divided by the total sum of all plan accounts with a balance at the beginning of the year. This amount will be the final payment amount for each settlement class member entitled to a distribution, court documents state.

Per court documents, class members who are current participants in the plan and have a $0 balance will not receive a cash payment from the class action settlement. Additionally, if a distribution is $5 or less, the class member will similarly not receive a cash payment, the agreement notes.

Cash payments to class members will be paid directly into their active retirement savings plans, unless the plan account was closed between the calculation of their payment and payment distribution, in which case the settlement administrator will mail a check. The plan of distribution further states that any former participants in an associate savings plan will receive their distribution via check to be mailed to the last known address associated with their retirement plan.

Class members who receive their settlement payment by check will have 180 days after issuance before expiration.

The court will decide whether to grant the Capital One settlement final approval following a hearing on June 25, 2026. Compensation will begin to be distributed to class members only after final approval has been granted and any appeals have been resolved.

The Capital One class action lawsuit claimed that the financial services provider breached its fiduciary duties by failing to use forfeitures from employees who left the company before their employer contributions vested to pay the plan’s administrative expenses, and instead improperly used those forfeitures to fund matching employer contributions to participants’ accounts.

The lawsuit contended that Capital One’s actions violated guidelines set by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, also known as ERISA.

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