TheTrump administration joined the retirees in asking the court totake up the case. (Photo: Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) –The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to consider givingworkers who participate in pension plans more ability to sue whenthey believe the money is being mismanaged.

The justices will hear arguments in their next term from retiredU.S. Bancorp employees who say their plan lost more than $1 billionduring the 2008 market crash because the company invested all theplan's assets in high-risk equities.

The case affects workers in defined-benefit plans, in whichretirees are entitled to a specific level of income and don't haveindividual accounts.

A federal appeals court said two retired workers couldn't suebecause the U.S. Bancorp plan had become overfunded, meaning theemployees weren't at any imminent risk of financial loss. That wasat least in part because the company injected more than $300million into the plan after the suit was filed in 2013.

The retired workers, James J. Thole and Sherry Smith, say afederal employee-benefits law allows suits as a way to policemisconduct among plan managers, even when plans are overfunded. TheTrump administration joined the retirees in asking the court totake up the case, calling the issue “an important question thatarises with some frequency.”

U.S. Bancorp urged the court to reject the appeal, sayingCongress didn't intend for plans to face costly litigation whenparticipants haven't been injured. The company said Thole and Smithhave received their full benefits every month since theirretirements.

The case is Thole v. U.S. Bank, 17-1712.

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