In Hoffman v. Life Ins. Co. of the SW, No. 23CV418236 (Sup. Ct. Cal.), a group of California public school educators allege that Life Insurance Company of the Southwest (LSW) violated California's Education Code and the California Unfair Competition Law by charging undisclosed and unauthorized fees within their 403(b) retirement savings accounts. The California Education Code provides that 403(b) vendors such as LSW cannot charge any fees that are not explicitly disclosed on 403bcompare.com, a website established under the Code. This requirement aims to provide transparency and enable informed decision-making for teachers when planning for retirement. LSW is accused of violating the Code by charging fees within indexed annuities purchased by California teachers within their 403(b) account that were not disclosed on 403bcompare.com. The plaintiffs seek equitable restitution and injunctive relief to address these unlawful and unfair practices and ensure proper disclosure moving forward.

The Plaintiffs seek to represent the following class, which must be approved by the Court and is subject to change:

All public employees of all California local school districts, community college districts, county offices of education, and state employees of a state employer under the uniform state payroll system, excluding the California State University System, eligible to participate in an annuity contract and custodial account as described in Section 403(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that, in the four years predating the filing of this Complaint and continuing through the date the class list is prepared, who were invested in an indexed annuity 403(b) product issued by Defendant and who paid fees that were not properly disclosed on 403bcompare.com.