Supreme Court to Hear Intel 401(k) Complaint Next Term

The Supreme Court granted a motion from both parties to delay until its next term the hearing of a complaint against Intel Corp. over allegedly imprudent investment options in 401(k) plans.

Both parties in Anderson v. Intel Corp. Investment Policy Committee asked the highest court for more time to submit briefing documents prior to the start of oral arguments.

The annual Supreme Court term ends in early summer. Since the court granted the motion to extend the deadline for the joint appendix and petitioners’ brief to April 13 and the deadline for filing respondents’ brief to June 22, the case will not be heard until the court’s next term, which begins in October.

The case, which has already been heard once before by the Supreme Court, will return for a review of the “meaningful benchmark” rule. This standard requires plaintiffs to identify comparable investments when alleging mismanagement of retirement plan assets—a requirement the Intel plaintiffs argue is inconsistently applied and overly strict. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling for Intel in May 2025, finding that the plaintiffs failed to prove it made imprudent investment choices.

The Supreme Court’s review comes as policymakers await federal regulatory guidance about how to increase access to private market investments in defined contribution retirement plans. President Donald Trump issued an executive order in August that encouraged regulators to provide more favorable guidance for the inclusion of the investments.

The DOL has not yet published its proposed rule on the topic, but the rule is expected to be published by the time the court hears the case.