It’s getting easier for retirement plan participants to win fee suits, says a senior advisor for the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries.

They are having more success because their lawyers are arguing more effectively in court by making a point of showing what fiduciaries should have done but didn’t do, said Ilene Ferenczy, Asppa's Government Affairs Committee senior advisor, on Monday at Asppa’s annual conference in Washington, D.C.

Participants are also faring better because their attorneys more often are demonstrating how trustees are costing them money by allowing excessive fees, Ferenczy added.

At the conference Asppa Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer Brian Graff said the group’s issues are getting more attention in Congress despite gridlock.

“There’s a lot more political focus in Congress and the state legislatures on pension issues as more people worry if they will have enough money for retirement,” Graff said.

He noted more than 17 states may offer retirement plans for private employers to provide to their workers.

Graff said he doesn’t expect the prospects for pension legislation in Congress will be altered if Republicans take control of the Senate in next week’s midterm elections.

Asppa Retirement Policy Director Judy Miller said there should be considerable action in Congress next year on multiple-employer pension plans.

“They think if there are multiple-employer plans, small employers will start flocking to them,” Miller said.