Guest curiousgeo Posted September 23, 2014 Posted September 23, 2014 Original QDRO drafter is deceased, I in turn would appreciate board members' thoughts on the following:DBP, plan admin-qualified QDRO; QDRO uses standard coverture formula, assigns AP 50% of marital portion as retirement benefit with separate interest approach, marital portion being 54% of whole pension. QDRO has 'poison pill' provision -- neither can do anything to derogate the other's rights or things get very expensive. QDRO defines scope of 'Survivor Share' as 100% of the marital portion, includes QPSA for pre-retirement protection, and for post retirement uses the following language:- - -...AP shall be treated as surviving spouse for the purpose of receiving her Survivor Share of the QJSA .... Upon retirement Participant shall be required to elect a form of benefit of the type and to the extent necessary to name and provide AP with her Survivor Share of the QJSA or its actuarial equivalent .... Participant may select any alternative form of benefit as long as his choice leaves intact the actuarial equivalent of a QJSA for the AP to the extent of her above-assigned interest.- - -Participant retires unmarried in early 2014 and reviewing benefit statement realizes calculation is off and will detrimentally affect AP, so he calls AP and together they learn from admin's counsel that admin calculated AP's survivor share as 50% based on admin's interpretation of QDRO and 1055(d)(2)(B) as applying to limit AP's survivor benefit to 50%. Admin's counsel also says participant can't name AP as 100% beneficiary (though plan doesn't appear to prevent this), and actuarial dept's benefit statement gives him a 100% survivor option. So due to poison pill provision he's stuck not being able to commence benefits until matter is resolved, with AP also on the verge of commencing her standard benefit, and admin won't budge.Participant and AP are friendly and decide to amend the QDRO to address their intent in another way to achieve their unchanged goals in dividing the pension, and before they do are seeking input.Assumptions (help me out here, math isn't my strong point): original whole: $300,000 marital part: $162,000 non-marital part: $138,000 Participant's remaining pension after AP's standard benefit is carved out is 46% of original whole plus half the marital portion of 54%, or 73% of the original whole. Since the admin would calculate the survivor benefit on the 73%, with a survivor benefit limited to 50% of that, AP's survivor benefit as calculated by the admin is 36.5% of whole, when by the parties' intent in the QDRO it is to be 100% of the 54%.What is the correct approach to the math?Thoughts on the parties' ability to achieve original intent? ___ * edited to add survivor benefit is fully subsidized *** edited again to fix math & add info on drafter
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