One aspect of retirement planning some members may not consider is how a divorce may affect their pension benefit. In New York State, retirement benefits earned by NYSLRS members are considered marital property. So, if you get a divorce, a judge may award your ex-spouse part of your pension. The process for dividing retirement assets after a divorce is complicated, but here is some basic information.
Dividing Pension Benefits After a Divorce
A commonly used formula for distributing pension benefits, established by the State Court of Appeals (the Majauskas formula), provides an ex-spouse with a portion of your pension based on half of the service credit you earned while you were married.
For example, let’s say you worked in your public-sector job for 10 years before you married. Then you got married continued working in public service for another 20 years, and then divorced. After the divorce, you continued working in public service for an additional 10 years. You’d have 40 total years of service credit, but only 20 years of your service was earned during your marriage. Under the Majauskas formula, your ex-spouse would be entitled to the proceeds of half of the service credit you earned during the marriage (10 years of service), or a quarter of your pension.
Other ways to divide pension benefits include a flat dollar amount, a benefit based on a specific date or a flat percentage of the benefit.
Domestic Relations Orders
To divide your retirement benefits after a divorce, NYSLRS needs a Domestic Relations Order (DRO). This court order, issued after a final judgment of divorce, gives us specific instructions on how your benefits should be split.
If your pension benefits will be affected by divorce, your DRO should be submitted to the Retirement System before you apply for retirement. We require a certified copy of the DRO, and it must be signed by a Supreme Court judge and entered as an official court document. We also require proof of divorce, such as a copy of the judgment of divorce. Failure to submit your DRO before you retire could result in a delay of your pension payments or an overpayment to you, which would need to be recovered by NYSLRS.
Learn More
Divorce may affect other NYSLRS benefits as well. Read Divorce and Your Benefits for more information including formulas for determining an ex-spouse’s share, a template you can use to draft a DRO and how to avoid a rejected DRO.
Married 2008 legally separated 2022 Was a member the entire time .What would they be entitle to in percentage we did not do qdro yet .Also if they are entitled to a percentage do they get that the rest of there life even when the member dies ,also can i leave my pension to someone or does my pension benefit stop when i die .Is it true once you retire you can not change your beneficiary.
NYSLRS makes retirement benefit payments to an ex-spouse if there is a valid Domestic Relations Order (DRO) on file instructing us to do so. This court order, issued after a final judgment of divorce, tells NYSLRS how your benefits should be split.
Visit our website for information about options for determining the ex-spouse’s share, and drafting a DRO using the NYSLRS template.
Some DROs require the member to choose a pension payment option that provides a continuing benefit to their ex-spouse if the member dies before them. Generally, this is one of the joint allowance options. Under joint allowance options, the member cannot designate additional option beneficiaries.
You cannot change your pension beneficiary once your retirement is effective.
For account-specific information about how this may apply in your situation, please message our customer service representatives using our secure contact form. Filling out the secure form allows them to safely contact you about your personal account information.
Since a prior divorce (with a DRO), I have remarried and have a daughter. If I die after retirement, will my current wife and daughter continue to receive my pension benefits?
Depending on the terms of the DRO, retirement benefits could be affected in any of the following ways:
• An ex-spouse may be entitled to a portion of the pension;
• A member may be required to name their ex-spouse as beneficiary of any pre-retirement death benefit payable;
• A member may be required to name their ex-spouse as beneficiary of any post-retirement death benefit payable;
• A member may be required to elect a pension payment option (sometimes called a retirement option) that provides a continuing benefit to their ex-spouse in the event of the member’s death;
• An ex-spouse may be entitled to a portion of a retiree’s cost-of-living adjustment.
You can read Divorce and Your Benefits on our website for more information.
For information specific to your situation, you can message our customer service representatives using our secure contact form. Filling out the secure form allows them to safely contact you about your personal account information.
How much would I get for working 10 years in a tier 4 pension ?
Most members can use Retirement Online to create a NYSLRS pension estimate based on the salary and service information we have on file for them. Sign in to your Retirement Online account, go to the ‘My Account Summary’ area of your Account Homepage and click the “Estimate my Pension Benefit” button. You can enter different retirement dates and beneficiaries to see how they affect your potential benefit.
If I marry after retirement then divorce after 5 years for example , would my ex be entitled to any of my pension ?
In New York State, NYSLRS retirement benefits are considered marital property. So, if you get a divorce, a judge may award your ex-spouse part of your pension.
NYSLRS can only pay benefits to an ex-spouse with an approved domestic relations order (DRO) on file. The DRO is a court order, issued after a final judgment of divorce, that gives NYSLRS specific instructions on how your benefits should be split.
For questions about how a post-retirement divorce may affect you benefits, we suggest that you or your attorney contact us using the secure email form on our website.
How long is the pension for?
NYSLRS pensions provide our retirees with a monthly benefit payment for the rest of their lives.
Thank You !!!
Even if it says we expect nothing from each other in our divorce papers, do I still need to get a QDRO
A Domestic Relations Order (DRO) is a legal document that gives NYSLRS specific instructions on how retirement benefits should be divided after a divorce. If the ex-spouse was not awarded an interest in any pension benefit payable by NYSLRS, the parties are not required to file divorce-related documents with NYSLRS. The parties are only required to provide a DRO and proof of divorce if the ex-spouse is entitled to a pension or death benefit payable by NYSLRS.
You can find general information about divorce and NYSLRS pension benefits on our website.