Is a QDRO really necessary to divide retirement benefits?

Frank from Brooklyn, NY asks, "Is a QDRO really necessary to divide retirement benefits?"

Spencer Olsen from Pension Evaluators^® at Troyan Inc.^®, answers, "The short answer is yes. Federal laws do not permit a retirement plan to distribute retirement benefits to the ex-spose of an employee without a QDRO. Every qualified plan, including defined benefit plans, ESOPs, 401(k) plans, and profit sharing plans, requires a QDRO to divide benefits. Troyan maintains it is unsafe to utilize a plan model format as often times they are a) catered to the pensioned spouse, and b) they lack all the mechanisms to close all areas of exposure to insulate the parties agreed upon award.

Troyan QDRO consulting firm focuses its practice primarily on employee benefit plan matters for marital dissolution and economic loss matters. As part of our overall Employee Benefits/ERISA practice, our firm has enjoyed working with a large number of family law attorneys in all 50 states and their clients on pension appraisals and QDROs, employee benefits plan, and ERISA related issues. We have extensive experience with: · Analyzing and evaluating the equitable distribution / community property in retirement plans, including, but not limited to: · Drafting / reviewing PSA language and QDROs to divide these benefits. If you have any questions regarding any of the items addressed herein, or any employee benefits plan or QDRO issue, please do not hesitate to contact Troyan. For more information, please contact: Phone: (800) 221-0706 · www.qdrosattroyan.com · 401(k) Plans, Profit Sharing Plans, ESOPs · Traditional Pension Plans · IRAs · CSRS / FERS / TSP / Military / Railroad / 50 State Pensions Benefits · Stock Option Plans and Other Executive Compensation Plans.