Mercer acturial error ‘mistake in judgement’

THE MERCER human resources consulting unit of New York-based broker Marsh & McLennan Companies has been named in a $2.8bn lawsuit in which the Alaska Retirement Management Board alleges the company made “multiple errors” in advising the board on the amount of reserves needed for healthcare and pension benefits. The lawsuit also alleges Mercer executives were aware of material errors and proceeded to conceal them, New York Times columnist Gretchen Morgenson wrote at the weekend. If the Alaska board wins the case, Mercer could face punitive damages and treble damages, the report said. Citing Marsh’s recent quarterly filing, the report said the broking group “has not recorded a liability related to the Alaska case because it cannot determine ‘that a loss is both probable and reasonably estimable’”. Mercer has said its actuarial error, and its failure to reveal it, amounted to “a mistake in judgement Mercer regrets and it is not consistent with the company’s corporate culture”.