Who qualifies for the Colgate-Palmolive pension settlement?

The class includes persons who received a lump sum distribution from the Colgate-Palmolive Employees Retirement Income Plan and who, under Appendices B, C, or D of the Plan, were entitled to a greater benefit than their Accrued Benefit, plus certain beneficiaries and estates of those participants.

What is the total settlement amount?

The settlement creates a Total Settlement Amount of $332,000,000. After Court-approved deductions for a service award, settlement administration costs, and attorneys' fees and expenses, the remaining Settlement Benefit Fund will be allocated to class members.

Do I need to file a claim to get money?

No. This is a mandatory, non opt out pension class. The Court granted final approval in January 2026, so if you are a class member or eligible successor you will automatically receive your one-time back payment and future annuity adjustment. There is no separate claim form.

How will I be paid under the settlement?

Class members who are plan participants receive a one-time back payment for alleged missed annuity payments and an additional monthly annuity benefit going forward, paid for life. In many cases a surviving spouse will also receive a monthly annuity after the participant's death. Successors of deceased participants receive a one-time payment only.

Can I opt out of the Colgate pension settlement?

No. The Court certified a mandatory, non opt out class. The settlement received final approval in January 2026, so you are bound by it and will receive the settlement benefits described, while releasing related claims.

What are the key deadlines and the fairness hearing date?

The objection deadline was December 12, 2025, and the Court held the Fairness Hearing on January 15, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York before Judge Lorna G. Schofield. The Court granted final approval of the settlement. Under the settlement, Colgate must make the one-time back payments and begin the adjusted monthly annuity payments by June 18, 2026.

Colgate-Palmolive Pension Residual Annuity $332M Settlement

By Steve Levine

Colgate-Palmolive pension residual annuity class action settlement

Published: November 14, 2025

Status Finally Approved Final approval granted January 2026

Settlement Amount $332,000,000 one-time back payments plus increased lifetime monthly annuities

Claim Form Not Required automatic pension adjustment for identified class members

Payments Due By June 18, 2026 Colgate must make back payments and begin adjusted monthly annuities

What Is the Colgate-Palmolive Pension Class Action About?

You may be part of a new $332 million Colgate-Palmolive pension class action settlement if you participated in the Colgate-Palmolive Employees Retirement Income Plan and received your benefit as a lump sum instead of monthly pension payments.

The class action lawsuit claims that some workers and their spouses were owed an additional "residual annuity" benefit on top of their lump sum. Under the proposed settlement, eligible class members can receive a one time back payment for past underpaid pension benefits, plus higher monthly annuity payments for the rest of their lives in many cases. Beneficiaries and estates of some deceased participants may also qualify for a one time payment.

This is a pension case brought under the federal retirement-benefits law known as ERISA. If that is new to you, our plain-English guide to ERISA explains what the law requires and how these cases work.

The Colgate-Palmolive class action case centers on a 2004 amendment known as the Residual Annuity Amendment. This amendment was retroactively effective as of July 1, 1989, when Colgate converted the Plan to a cash balance pension plan and for the first time allowed participants to elect a lump sum distribution instead of a traditional monthly annuity.

Plaintiffs claimed that for certain employees who took a lump sum, the Plan should have also provided an extra residual annuity benefit under the amendment. In simple terms, they argued that some lump sum payouts did not reflect the full value of the pension benefit promised by the Plan, so those workers and their spouses were owed additional monthly payments.

Colgate and the other defendants deny any wrongdoing, deny that benefits were miscalculated, and deny that any additional payments were required. After years of litigation in the Southern District of New York and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, the parties reached a settlement that, if approved, will resolve all related claims.

Who Is in the Settlement Class?

The Court certified a mandatory, non opt out class in this pension case. The class is defined in the Settlement Agreement as:

Any person who, under any of Appendices B, C, or D of the Plan, is entitled to a greater benefit than his or her Accrued Benefit as defined in Plan section 1.15, provided that such person received a lump sum payment from the Plan, and the beneficiaries and estates of any such person.

To be a class member, you must also be listed on Attachment A to the Settlement Agreement, which reflects the parties best efforts to identify everyone who meets this definition as of the settlement date.

If your name appears at the top of a mailed Notice and you received this notice at your address, you have been identified as a class member.

If the class member named on the first page of the Notice is deceased, the settlement benefit that person would have received will instead be paid to the class member’s successor or successors, as described in the settlement.

What Does the Settlement Provide?

The proposed settlement creates a total settlement fund of $332,000,000.

From this amount, the Court may approve certain deductions, including:

• A service award to the class representative, Ms. McCutcheon
• Settlement administration costs
• Lawyer and litigation fees and expenses

After these deductions, the balance is called the Settlement Benefit Fund, which will be used to fund class member benefits.

The Settlement Benefit Fund is expected to be allocated as:

• One-time back payments for alleged missed prior annuity payments
• Ongoing future monthly annuity payments (or increases to existing annuities) for eligible participants and spouses

The exact size of the Settlement Benefit Fund will depend on how much the Court ultimately awards for fees, expenses, administration costs, and the service award. If the Court awards less than the maximum amounts requested, the net benefit available to class members will be higher and each person’s benefit will increase proportionally.

How Will My Individual Benefit Be Calculated?

This is not a flat per person payout settlement. Each class member’s benefit is individualized and depends on their own history under the Plan.

Under the settlement, your benefit is based on a calculation of what Class Counsel argued the Plan should be paying you, and should have been paying you, under the Residual Annuity Amendment. That includes:

• The annuity you should have received starting on the date you first took your lump sum distribution
• Any annuity payments you have already received
• Any retroactive annuity payment you may have received around 2017
• Interest and a pro rata discount to account for the risks and delays avoided through settlement

If you received a notice, it should include your personalized estimated settlement amounts, which may include:

• A Participant Back Payment, a one-time lump sum to make up for alleged past underpayments
• A Participant Monthly Annuity amount for the rest of your life
• A Spouse Monthly Annuity amount, payable after your death for the life of your spouse at the time you were originally paid, if that spouse is still living

These amounts are estimates only and may change to reflect corrections, the exact fees and costs approved, and your specific circumstances. Payments may also be subject to applicable tax withholding.

Do I Need to File a Claim?

No. You do not need to submit a claim form to receive benefits from this class action settlement.

The Court granted final approval of the settlement in January 2026, so the Plan will calculate your final settlement benefit and pay it to you automatically through:

• A one-time back payment for alleged missed annuity amounts
• Future monthly annuity payments or an increase in your existing monthly annuity

Payments will be sent to the address where your Notice was mailed, or via electronic payment if you already receive Plan annuity payments that way.

A Personal Information Form was included with the mailed Notice so you can correct or update your contact information. If the information on your Notice is still correct, you do not need to do anything to receive your benefits.

When Will Payments Be Made?

The Court granted final approval of the settlement following the January 15, 2026 fairness hearing. Under the terms of the settlement, Colgate must make the one-time back payments and begin the adjusted monthly annuity payments by June 18, 2026.

Eligible class members should receive:

• Their one-time back payment
• Their first adjusted monthly annuity payment

on or before that June 18, 2026 deadline. No action is required on your part to receive these payments.

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Can I Be Excluded From the Settlement?

No. This is a mandatory, non opt out pension class.

Because of the way the Plan and ERISA work, the Court certified the class so that all people who fall within the definition are included, and their pension benefits and related claims can be resolved in one proceeding.

You do not have the right to exclude yourself. By the same token, you do not need to do anything now to share in the benefits of an approved settlement.

How Will the Lawyers Be Paid?

Class Counsel will apply to the Court for an award of lawyer fees, costs, and expenses, to be paid from the Total Settlement Amount.

As described in the Notice, Class Counsel will ask for:

• Attorneys fees in an amount not to exceed a set percentage of the Total Settlement Amount
• Reimbursement of out of pocket litigation costs and expenses, capped at a specified maximum
• Settlement administration costs, up to a specified maximum
• A service award for Ms. McCutcheon for her work as class representative

The class action court will decide how much to award, up to those caps. If the Court awards less than the requested amounts, the Settlement Benefit Fund available for class members will increase proportionally.

How Do I Get More Information?

More detailed information about the lawsuit and settlement, including key pleadings, the Settlement Agreement, Class Counsel’s fee motion, and Court orders, can be obtained by:

• Visiting the official settlement website: www.ColgatePensionClassAction.com
• Registering and using the PACER system at pacer.psc.uscourts.gov to view case filings online
• Reviewing the case file in person at the Clerk’s Office, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, during regular business hours