Jacobson v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.

Under California law, companies that sell certain retirement plans (called 403(b) plans) to employees of public schools must disclose information about the fees they charge so that it can be posted on a public website, 403bCompare.com. The website allows employees to compare fees and make informed decisions about their retirement investments.

A teacher in California sued Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (Met Life), because it had stopped disclosing fees charged for one of its products, which she continued to use. The California Court of Appeal held that because Met Life had stopped offering the product to new customers, the state law did not require it to disclose the fees, even though existing customers were able to continue to use the product and were charged annual fees for doing so.

In January 2026, the plaintiff filed a petition for review in the California Supreme Court. Public Citizen submitted an amicus letter in support of the petition. The letter explains that the Court of Appeal’s decision, if left in place, would undermine the ability of millions of Californians to make informed decisions about their retirement funds.