Pension Rights Lawyer Serving Nassau County & Long Island
Understanding Pension Rights
If you have questions about your rights concerning pensions in a divorce or separation in Suffolk County or Nassau County, now is the time to contact a divorce attorney at our law firm. We represent clients throughout the area in their cases related to pension rights, property division, maintenance (alimony) and the many other issues relevant to separation and divorce.
Under the New York Domestic Relations Law, earnings are marital in nature, and, accordingly, any contributions to a pension, 401k, 403B, IRA, TDA, Annuity or other deferred compensation account during the marriage are marital in nature and are subject to equitable distribution. To distribute most plans, a Qualified Domestic Relations Order or "QDRO" must be signed by the Court and served upon the plan administrator.
A QDRO is a court order, which is used to divide pension rights between divorcing spouses according to a formula known as the Majauskas formula (Majauskas v. Majauskas, 61 NY2d 481, 474 NYS2d 699 (1984)), which provides the non-titled spouse with a share based on the following mathematical formula:
Number of Months of Marriage
During Which Spouse Participated
in Deferred Compensation Plan
_________ X .50 X Gross Amount
Total Number of Months
of Spouse's Employment
Private pension and benefit plans such as Pensions, Defined Contribution Plans, 401K plans, 403B plans, 457 plans, Individual Retirement Account Plans (IRA), Annuity Plans, Supplemental Annuity Plans, TDA, TIAA/CREF, and many other deferred compensation accounts may be divided by a QDRO under a Federal law called "ERISA." The Qualified Domestic Relations Order must first be approved by the pension plan administrator prior to being submitted to the court for signature and entry as an order. Until it is an entered order and has been served upon the pension plan administrator, your rights are not protected and you will not receive anything under the QDRO. Once entered and served upon the pension plan administrator, however, your rights are protected in the retirement funds, and the pension administrator in effect cleaves the account into two separate accounts, one for each spouse.
If you delay in obtaining a QDRO, you may lose valuable rights and run the risk of forfeiting all of the benefits. Your rights may be affected if your former spouse retires, becomes disabled, remarries, quits, is fired, withdraws funds from the plan, takes a loan against the plan or dies.
Protect Your Pension with a Suffolk County Divorce Attorney
If you have a pension or other deferred compensation account that needs to be distributed or if you are in need of a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO), you should consult with an experienced divorce and family law attorney without delay so you can determine and protect your legal rights.
The lawyers at the Law Offices of Paul A. Boronow, P.C. have extensive experience in having QDROs pre-approved by the plan administrators, ordered by the court and enforced on the by the plans in actions for divorce in Suffolk County, Nassau County and the surrounding areas. We offer a free consultation to discuss your case.
To learn more, contact a Suffolk County Pension Rights Lawyer at our firm today. Call us at 516-227-5353.
The information on this website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.