26 Mar My ex was getting my pension. He died. Do I get it back?

Q. I just found out that my ex received part of my pension from a QDRO, but he died and I thought the pension would revert back to me. The pension board said it doesn’t come back to me. Could that be correct?
— Confused

A. We’re sorry to hear you’re contending with this.

Here’s what you need to consider.

Your divorce decree should contain terms providing for how your respective retirement assets are, or were, to be divided upon your divorce and what portion of these accounts are subject to equitable distribution, said Jeralyn Lawrence, a family law attorney with Lawrence Law in Watchung.

She said if your divorce decree further instructed you to have a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) prepared and facilitated to effectuate the division of your pension, and the QDRO was served upon your pension plan, it probably included the important details, she said.

Among them would be terms that address the longevity of the benefit assigned to your late ex-husband, the life events that might trigger termination of the benefit and an indication of under what circumstances the benefit will continue, if any, or revert back to you, Lawrence said.

“Needless to say, the availability of pension payouts following the death of a pension participant or alternate payee are predominantly determined by the terms of the plan itself and are not uniform across all retirement assets,” she said. “It is not uncommon that benefits do not revert back to the participant upon the alternate payee’s death.”

Lawrence said the plan’s guidelines probably contain more information on how the plan treats benefits upon certain life events, and if the retirement board has informed you that there is no reversionary provision for benefits divided incident to divorce, it is unlikely a court will circumvent the plan’s provisions.

“In the event you are uncertain as to the terms of your divorce decree on the division of retirement assets or wish to have your divorce decree reviewed to determine whether it provides sufficient direction for the plan, it is recommended that you or speak with an experienced family lawyer who can assist in taking these steps,” she said.

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This story was originally published in March 2024.

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