A retirement plan offered by the New York State United Teachers — a cluster of local unions that represent working and retired college faculty and staff members, elementary and secondary teachers, and health-care workers— violated its fiduciary duty when it endorsed an investment firm’s products to its 575,000 plan members in exchange for millions of dollars, according to a lawsuit filed last week in federal court in New York.

According to today’s New York Times, the New York State United Teachers Member Benefits Trust exclusively endorsed a high-fee annuity offered by the ING Life Insurance and Annuity Company. ING, in return, paid the salaries of some of the trust employees who promoted ING’s products to members of the plan. —Audrey Williams June