$44.4 Million Symetra Agrees to Pay Over AME Church Pension Losses, Who Gets the Money?

About 4,500 African Methodist Episcopal Church pastors and employees lost much of their retirement savings after a decades-long embezzlement scheme drained their pension plan. Symetra Life Insurance Co. agreed on April 10, 2026 to pay $44.4 million to resolve its role in the scandal. The deal pushes total recovery in this case above $100 million. A court must still approve it.

Quick Facts

Field	Detail
Settlement Amount	$44,400,000
Claim Deadline	TBD — Court approval pending
Who Qualifies	AME Church clergy and employees who participated in the Ministerial Retirement Annuity Plan
Payout Per Person	TBD — Pro-rata distribution expected
Proof Required	TBD
Settlement Status	Proposed — Awaiting court approval
Administrator	TBD
Official Website	TBD

Where Things Stand Right Now

• Pastors filed the $44.4 million settlement with Symetra in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee on April 10, 2026, and the court must approve it before any money moves.
• This deal follows a $20 million settlement with the AME Church and related entities, plus a $40 million deal with third-party administrator Newport Group Inc., bringing the total recovery past $100 million.
• Individual payout amounts, a claim deadline, and a settlement administrator have not been publicly confirmed yet — check back here as the court process moves forward.

What Is the Symetra Lawsuit About?

In April 2022, AARP Foundation joined the class action lawsuit as co-counsel on behalf of about 5,000 AME Church employees and retirees whose fiduciaries mishandled and lost nearly $90 million in retirement funds. The lawsuit accused multiple parties — including the church, its retirement plan administrator, and financial institutions — of allowing those losses to happen.

The AME Church accused its former retirement department head of embezzlement after discovering in 2021 that he provided “deceptive, false and grossly inflated financial statements” about the retirement plan. That person was the Rev. Dr. Jerome V. Harris, who ran the church’s Department of Retirement Services for over two decades. Harris retired in 2021 after 21 years as head of the denomination’s Department of Retirement Services. He died in May 2024 of a heart attack.

The complaint states the church learned that only about $37 million of Harris’s previously reported $128 million valuation of the retirement plan was actually held by Symetra. Plaintiffs argued that Symetra, as the insurance company holding the retirement annuity, should have flagged suspicious fund transfers and warned plan participants — but never did. Plaintiffs’ counsel stated they continued “to find documents showing that Newport and Symetra knew our pastors’ retirement funds were being misappropriated, or even outright stolen, and had their own concerns about that. But they never told anyone who could’ve stopped it.”

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Who Is in This Class and Who Does This Affect?

This is not a consumer product lawsuit. The people affected are current and retired employees of the African Methodist Episcopal Church who participated in the church’s Ministerial Retirement Annuity Plan.

You may be a class member if:

• You worked as a pastor, clergy member, or lay employee of an AME Church-affiliated congregation, college, or seminary
• You contributed to or were promised benefits from the AME Ministerial Retirement Annuity Plan
• You experienced reduced or missing retirement fund balances tied to the plan’s losses
• You are a surviving beneficiary of a deceased plan participant who met the above criteria

The deal is expected to benefit about 4,500 pastors and church employees. The exact eligibility criteria and any enrollment or notification process will be confirmed once the court approves the settlement and a settlement administrator is appointed.

How Much Money Could Plan Participants Receive?

Individual payout amounts are not confirmed yet. The $44.4 million Symetra fund will be distributed on a pro-rata basis — meaning each eligible participant’s share will depend on the size of their plan losses relative to the total losses across all participants.

To understand what total recovery looks like across the full case:

• $20 million — Settlement with the AME Church and related entities (finally approved August 2025)
• $40 million — Settlement with Newport Group Inc. (finally approved August 2025)
• $44.4 million — New proposed settlement with Symetra Life Insurance Co. (pending court approval)
• Total so far: over $100 million recovered for approximately 4,500 participants

Participants had been left with about 30 percent of what they had hoped to use for retirement. Even with these recoveries, the plan has not been made whole. Litigation against the estate of Dr. Jerome Harris and other remaining defendants continues.

What Happens Next for Plan Participants

The Symetra settlement still needs a judge’s approval before it becomes final. Here is what to expect:

Step 1 — The court reviews the proposed $44.4 million settlement filed April 10, 2026, in the Western District of Tennessee.

Step 2 — If the court grants preliminary approval, a settlement administrator will be appointed and class members will receive official notice.

Step 3 — Class members will have an opportunity to submit a claim, opt out, or object during a court-set notice period.

Step 4 — A final approval hearing will be scheduled. If the judge signs off, the fund will be distributed.

Step 5 — Monitor official communications from your attorneys or the settlement administrator for your specific claim instructions.

Step 6 — Save any confirmation or correspondence you receive — it will matter when payments go out.

Estimated time to complete a claim once the process opens: TBD

Key Dates

Milestone	Date
Embezzlement Discovered	2021
Class Action Filed	2022
AME Church Settlement Announced	August 2024
Newport Group Settlement Announced	August 2024
AME Church + Newport Settlement Finally Approved	August 18, 2025
Symetra Settlement Announced	April 10, 2026
Court Preliminary Approval Hearing	TBD
Claim Filing Deadline	TBD
Opt-Out / Objection Deadline	TBD
Final Approval Hearing	TBD
Expected Payment Date	TBD

Frequently Asked Questions

Do AME Church plan participants need a lawyer to receive money from this settlement?

 No. Class members do not need to hire a lawyer to file a claim. Plaintiffs’ attorneys — including AARP Foundation, Lieff Cabraser, Milberg, and others — represent the class and are paid from the settlement fund. You simply need to submit a claim once the process opens.

Is the Symetra settlement legitimate? 

Yes. The settlement was filed April 10, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee as part of an ongoing multidistrict litigation. Court records confirm the filing. It is separate from the earlier Newport Group and AME Church settlements, both of which a federal judge already approved.

When will plan participants receive their money? 

Not yet. The Symetra settlement is still awaiting court approval. Once a judge grants preliminary approval, sets a claims period, and holds a final approval hearing, payments can begin processing. Based on the pace of earlier settlements in this case, the process typically takes several months to a year.

What if I already received money from the earlier AME Church or Newport Group settlements? 

You may still be eligible for a share of the Symetra fund. The three settlements are separate. Receiving payment from one does not automatically exclude you from the others. Wait for official notice from the settlement administrator once the Symetra deal receives court approval.

What if there is still money missing even after all these settlements?

 Litigation continues against the estate of Dr. Jerome Harris and other remaining defendants. Attorneys for the plaintiffs have stated they intend to pursue every remaining responsible party. Any future recoveries would be distributed separately.

Could this settlement money affect my taxes? 

Possibly. Retirement plan recoveries can have tax implications depending on how the original contributions were made and how the distribution is classified. Consult a tax professional once you receive your settlement notice to understand how this payment may affect your return.

What happened to the man at the center of this scandal?

 Harris retired in 2021 after 21 years as head of the denomination’s Department of Retirement Services. He died in May 2024 of a heart attack. Litigation against his estate continues, and attorneys have said they intend to pursue any recoverable assets.

Why is Symetra paying if it did not steal the money?

 Plaintiffs argued that Symetra, as the insurance company holding the retirement annuity, allowed suspicious fund transfers to happen without alerting plan participants or church leadership. Workers alleged that mismanagement of their annuity retirement plan allowed a rogue employee to embezzle $90 million. Settling does not mean Symetra admitted wrongdoing.

Last Updated: April 14, 2026

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Legal claims and outcomes depend on specific facts and applicable law. For advice regarding a particular situation, consult a qualified attorney.