John Hancock Workers Get $3.5 Million for Lawyers in 401(k) Suit

Employees who sued John Hancock Life Insurance Co. over the affiliated mutual funds in their 401(k) plan secured a $3.5 million attorneys’ fee award out of a previously negotiated $14 million class settlement, Boston federal court papers show.

Judge Richard G. Stearns of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on Thursday granted final approval to the deal, which resolves allegations that John Hancock mismanaged its employees’ 401(k) plan by filling it with poorly performing expensive funds that pay fees to the company.

Stearns also signed off on an attorneys’ fee award of one-fourth the settlement amount, along ...