Congress Overrides State Rules for Dividing Military Retired Pay
Q: What’s the new development in division of military retired pay?
A: The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (NDAA 17) contained a major revision of how military pension division orders are written. Instead of allowing the states to decide how to divide military retired pay and what formula or methodology to use, Congress imposed a single uniform method of pension division on all the states.
Note: This article is an important update regarding the division of military pensions during a divorce. For more information, schedule a consultation with Dondi by visiting http://dondiwestlaw.com/consult
Q: What states will be affected?
A: Forty or more states require the use of the “time rule” to divide a defined benefit plan (explained below). However, all states – as of December 23, 2016, the date the law was enacted – will have to use this new method for dividing a military pension.
