The US Supreme Court ruled that participants in the most common type of retirement plan, 401(k), can sue administrators of their pension plans over their failure to manage the money properly. The unanimous ruling stemmed from the lawsuit of James LaRue of Texas, who lost about $150,000 because of mismanagement of his pension plan and failure to comply with his request to move the money into safer investments.

"Before everybody just saw it as a savings plan offered employees, and now the focus has been on the fact that this is the employee's retirement plan," said Robyn Credico, director of defined contribution consulting for Watson Wyatt Worldwide, to the Washington Post. "I think both the plan sponsors and the government are paying more attention because of that."

The Supreme Court ruled that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act indeed allows individuals to hold responsible their administrators in case of suspected mismanagement. "Fiduciary misconduct need not threaten the solvency of the entire plan to reduce benefits below the amount that participants would otherwise receive," Justice John Paul Stevens said.

The Supreme Court thus effectively overturned a ruling by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va. which previously ruled that Supreme Court precedent barred LaRue from suing administrator DeWolff, Boberg & Associates. The ruling was largely seen as a victory for the "little guy," as it empowers individuals to hold accountable the managers of their retirement funds if money is stolen or mismanaged.