Court Order Opens Path to Frozen Retirement Funds for Aerospace Workers

SEATTLE — Former employees of a defunct Washington aerospace company are a step closer to accessing retirement savings frozen since the business closed in 2023. A federal court has appointed an independent fiduciary to manage the Commercial Aircraft Interiors LLC 401(k) plan.

AMI Benefit Plan Administrators will be able to distribute assets to eligible participants and formally terminate the plan. The Labor Department said the plan holds approximately $260,000 for 59 participants.

The Arlington-based company’s only responsive representative, Charles Pratt, lacked the legal authority needed to approve distributions. That left former employees unable to obtain their money even though a company contact remained available.

“The appointment of an independent fiduciary will give the participants in the Commercial Aircraft Interiors plan access to the funds that rightly belong to them,” said Liam Roberts, district director of the Employee Benefits Security Administration in Seattle. “We urge all workers to contact the department for assistance when their retirement plan has been abandoned and they have not received the benefits to which they are entitled.”

The order was entered in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. The department directs workers seeking help with private-sector retirement or health benefits to askebsa.dol.gov or 866-444-3272.