INDEX CLOSE CHG
Dow Jones Industrial Avg. 26,036.10x 258.
S&P 500 2,887.94 x 18.
Nasdaq composite 7,856.88 x 29.
T-note, 10-year yield 1.481x 0.
SOURCESUSA TODAY RESEARCH, BLOOMBERG
Dow Jones Industrial Avg.
24,26,27,28,FEB. AUG.
AP25,
258.
26,WEDNESDAY’S MARKETS
TOYOTA, SUZUKI TEAM UP
ON SELF-DRIVING CAR TECH
Toyota, and rival Suzuki are partnering
in the development of self-driving car
technology. Under the deal an-
nounced Wednesday, Toyota will take
a 4.9% stake in Suzuki Motor Corp.
valued at 96 billion yen ($908 million),
and Suzuki will make a 48 billion yen
($454 million) investment in Toyota.
MARRIOTT SWITCHING AWAY
FROM TRIAL-SIZE SHAMPOO
Marriott International said Wednesday
it will eliminate small plastic bottles of
shampoo, conditioner and bath gel
from its hotel rooms worldwide by
December 2020. They’ll be replaced
with larger bottles or wall-mounted
dispensers. Marriott has more than
7,000 hotels in 131 countries under 30
brands, including Residence Inn to
Sheraton and Ritz-Carlton. It says it
will be eliminating about 500 million
small bottles each year, or 1.7 million
pounds of plastic.
‘FORTNITE’ SUPERSTAR
SIGNS WITH ADIDAS
“Fortnite” streaming superstar Tyler
“Ninja” Blevins has joined another
team: Adidas. “I can’t say specifically
what is in the works with Adidas, but
use your imagination,” Blevins said on
his Mixer stream. This is the second
major move recently for the profes-
sional video gamer, who this month
left the Twitch streaming service for
the Microsoft-owned streaming plat-
form Mixer, where he has nearly 2 mil-
lion followers.
DAN HUFF/AP
MONEYLINE
This Last Year
year week ago6-month 0.59% 0.60% 0.38%
1-year 0.87% 0.89% 0.74%
2 1 ⁄ 2 -year 0.92% 0.93% 0.99%
5-year 1.22% 1.24% 1.31%SOURCE: BANKRATE.COM
CD yields
USA TODAY SNAPSHOTS ©You would think most investors are
fairly happy with their results, 10 years
into a rising stock market and with sol-
id gains delivered by bonds, too. But
that apparently isn’t the case at a lot of
401(k) workplace retirement plans.
Unhappiness over high fees, inap-
propriate investment options and oth-
er issues have led to a spike in lawsuits
in recent years, according to a study by
the Center for Retirement Research at
Boston College. The flip side is that
many 401(k) programs have gotten
better in recent years, partly because
of increased litigation risk.
These trends affect nearly two in
three adult workers with money in-
vested in 401(k)-style plans, which
have replaced traditional pensions as
retirement mainstays in the work-
place. The plans feature tax-saving
benefits and allow workers to contrib-
ute money automatically from each
paycheck. Many employers offer
matching funds to encourage further
saving.
But unlike traditional pension
plans, where managers hired by em-
ployers call the shots, workers in
401(k) plans must make investment
decisions on their own (although some
companies provide guidance). Poor in-
vestment choices, high fees, a lack of
transparency and other problems can
lead to subpar results and dissatisfac-
tion.Not surprisingly, 401(k) lawsuits,
which typically are class-action cases,
jumped when the economy soured and
the stock market tanked roughly a dec-
ade ago.
From eight lawsuits filed against
employers in 2006, the numbers
surged to 18 in 2007 and 107 in 2008,
before declining for the next five years,
according to the Boston College report
by George Mellman and Geoffrey San-
zenbacher.
But since bottoming at just two law-
suits in 2013, litigation has risen again,
with 56 suits in 2016 and 51 in 2017, the
two most recent years tracked.
Of the roughly 430 cases evaluated
by Boston College, 60% are still pend-
ing, 20% were dismissed/closed, 16%
were settled/decided, and 4% are on
appeal. In an interview, Sanzenbacher
said he sensed the trend of increased
401(k) litigation is continuing, though
the researchers haven’t included more
recent numbers.
Among notable cases cited in the
report, health insurer Anthem agreed
to pay $24 million to settle a complaint
filed by employees, as did Franklin
Templeton Investments ($14 million)
and Brown University ($3.5 million).
Still, Sanzenbacher said it’s difficult
to determine whether employees orWorkers
sue over
401(k)
plans
More lawsuits focus on
fees, investment options
Russ Wiles
Arizona Republic
USA TODAY NETWORKSee LAWSUITS, Page 6AMany 401(k) plans have improved due
to a higher litigation risk.GETTY IMAGESYvonne Lyon has one of those
chilling tales about a door-to-door
scam that could make any loved one
cringe.
“I invited him into my house,
yes,” the 82-year-old said. “I did give
him my Medicare number. That’s
the one thing I did that I should not
have done at all.”
Well, make that two things. Sen-
iors should not spend even five min-
utes talking to these clowns, let
alone letting them into their homes.
And they should never give a Medi-
care number or card to a stranger.
A young man came to Lyon’s door
in Clarkston, Washington, this sum-
mer with a brochure about genetic
screening for crucial cancer preven-
tion. She doesn’t have cancer, and
really, there has been very little can-
cer in her family. But she thought
she should get tested anyway.
He convinced Lyon to take a test
through a few swabs of her cheek.
No money was exchanged. She didhand over a Medicare card, which
fortunately was a new card that did
not have her Social Security number
on it. Even so, her card still has im-
portant information that can be
used by thieves.Hot new scam involves
‘genetic testing’ kitsThis summer, both the Federal
Trade Commission and the U.S. De-
partment of Health and Human Ser-
vices issued fraud alerts about
crooks targeting Medicare benefi-
ciaries. The con artists use door-to-
door visits, telemarketing calls,
Facebook ads, Craigslist and some
even set up booths at public events
to push supposedly free DNA testing
kits.
Crooks are after two things:
They’re out to commit identity theft
or fraudulently bill the government
for thousands of dollars in some
cases.
And fraud hot lines are heating
up with complaints and concerns.
“It’s one of the more popular calls
we’re getting these days,” said KathyDNA BY GETTY IMAGESDoor-to-door
scam seeks
DNA swabs
See DNA, Page 6AThieves are looking to defraud
Medicare through identity theft
Susan Tompor
Columnist
USA TODAYMONEY USA TODAY ❚FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2019❚5A