17 Jan How will this pension be split in divorce?

Q. I’m recently divorced. I’m retired and received a pension that has two parts, one I paid into and the other I didn’t. Is my ex entitled to both parts or just the one I paid into?
— Divorced

A. We’re sorry to hear about your divorce.

We’re also surprised this wasn’t addressed by your attorney during your divorce settlement.

Your wife would be entitled to the marital portion of both the employee and employer portion of the pension, said Jody D’Agostini, a certified financial planner with AXA Advisors/The Falcon Financial Group in Morristown.

“The pension is deemed to be a marital asset and part of equitable distribution,” she said. “Any retirement plan or pension that was earned while married is a joint marital asset and is divisible.”

However, she said, if a portion of the pension was earned either before or after your marriage, then that portion would be 100% yours.

For your pension to be split however, you will need to file a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) to split the pension into the two parts, she said.

You can learn more about that here.

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This story was originally published on Jan. 17, 2020.

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