QDRO in Defined Benefit Plans

[Trisports]

In order for a divorced spouse get a portion of an employee’s pension through a QDRO, wouldn’t they have to be married during the time the employee earned eligibility and credited service for the pension?

[Mike Preston]

No.

[david rigby]

Conversely, they don't have to be divorced for the spouse (ex- or otherwise) to get an award under a QDRO.

 

[ESOP Guy]

And to be real clear about this, it doesn't matter if it is a DB or DC plan, the answer would be the same.  

The reason the answers are what they are is because all the QDRO rules tell you is if you have a valid QDRO.  There are no QDRO rules that tell you what a QDRO has to say that isn't related to it being a valid QDRO or not. 

As such the plan benefits are just property that can be negotiated over in a property settlement during a divorce.  So if one party is willing to give up a part of their pension benefits as part of the property settlement, so be it from the plan's perspective (as long as there is a valid QDRO). 

[CMarkB]

The answer to your question is with the applicable state's law.  A pre-condition to a QDRO is a domestic relations order, judgement, or decree (including a property settlement) valid under the particular state's law.  After that, the ERISA requirements are applied to determine if it is "qualified".