Merrill Edge Retirement Account Interest Settlement

How payment is delivered depends on whether you still have a Merrill Edge retirement account. The notice does not require a claim form for the cash payment.

• Current Merrill Edge retirement-account holders: payment will be deposited directly into the retirement account.
• Former retirement-account holders: payment will be sent by check or electronic transfer. To select electronic transfer instead of a check, use the Settlement Website by March 26, 2027.

The payment is not a flat amount. It is based on a formula tied to account cash balances, the applicable RASP interest-rate tier, and the difference between the actual rate and the rate used in the settlement calculation. The notice says this formula is for allocating the fund and is not a prediction of what someone would have recovered at trial.

• For each qualifying month, the calculation uses the cash balance on the last Friday of that month.
• It compares the interest rate Merrill actually paid with the rate estimated by the plaintiff’s expert, then accounts for the days in that month.
• The monthly results are added together to create an Individual Recognized Claim. Payments are then divided proportionally among eligible Class Members from the Net Settlement Fund.

The $39 million fund is not the amount available for direct payments alone. Costs and court-approved awards are paid from it before the remaining Net Settlement Fund is divided. The notice does not give a reliable estimate of any one person's payment.

• A payment is made only if the person's calculated pro rata share of the Net Settlement Fund is at least $10.
• The notice says an individual amount cannot be reliably estimated before the Settlement Hearing. Among other things, it will depend on court-approved fees, expenses, awards, and notice and administration costs.

Opting out means leaving the settlement. A person who opts out will not receive a settlement payment and will not be bound by the case's orders or judgment, but keeps the right to pursue a separate lawsuit about the same claims. One request cannot be made for more than one Class Member.

• Mail an exclusion request postmarked by February 19, 2027.
• Include your full name, mailing address, email address, telephone number, and personal signature.
• State that you request exclusion from the Class in Valelly v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, Case No. 1:19-cv-07998-VEC.
• Send it to Valelly v. Merrill Lynch, c/o JND Legal Administration, PO Box 91219, Seattle, WA 98111.

Objecting is different from opting out. A Class Member may object and still remain eligible for settlement benefits if the Court approves the settlement. The notice requires supporting documentation about the objector's RASP balances, interest amounts, and interest rates; confidential information such as account numbers may be redacted.

• File the written objection with the Court.
• Mail and deliver it to Class Counsel and Merrill's counsel.
• Do all of this by February 19, 2027.
• The objection must identify the case, give contact information, explain the grounds for the objection, and include the other information and documents listed in the notice.

Remaining in the settlement has a legal effect beyond receiving a possible payment: it releases certain legal claims. The notice gives a summary, not the complete list of released claims.

• People who stay in the Class will be bound by the settlement and the Court's related orders.
• They give up certain claims against Merrill and its affiliates concerning RASP interest during the Class Period and related claims that were or could have been raised.
• The notice directs readers to the Settlement Agreement for the full release language and its exceptions.

At the hearing, the Court will consider whether to approve the settlement. Approval has not yet been decided, and the notice says the hearing schedule can change.

• The hearing is scheduled for March 12, 2027, at 10:00 a.m.
• It is scheduled for Courtroom 20C at the United States District Court, 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY 10007.
• The Court may move the hearing date or time.