"The court ruled that QDROs are essentially 'court-approved contracts,' and thus are 'subject to ordinary rules of contract interpretation under state law.' However, the plan administrator's exercise of discretionary authority in calculating benefits under the terms of the plan would be reviewed for abuse of discretion....[T]he Fourth Circuit ruled that the word 'may' 'authorizes, but does not require, the plan administrator to allocate the cost of the surviving spouse annuity to the alternate payee's portion of the benefit.' ... The Fourth Circuit also noted that this interpretation was consistent with the plan documents." [Gasper v. EIDP, Inc., No. 24-1959 (4th Cir. Dec. 8, 2025)]  MORE >>