Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO)
Definition
Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA"), a judgment, decree, or order regarding child support, alimony, or marital property rights that assigns the right to receive all or part of the benefits payable under a pension plan and that is made pursuant to a state's domestic relations law. 29 U.S.C. § 1056(d)(3). A qualified domestic relations order ("QDRO") is exempt from ERISA's anti-assignment provision. 29 U.S.C. § 1056(d)(3)(A).
Illustrative caselaw
See, e.g. Kennedy v. Plan Adm'r for DuPont Sav. and Inv. Plan, 129 S.Ct. 865 (2009).
See also
Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary
A court order based on the division of a party's pension or retirement benefits as part of a divorce. The QDRO orders the administrator of the pension plan to distribute a specified share of benefits to the nonemployee spouse at the time that the employee spouse begins receiving benefits. This special order is necessary to comply with federal law governing retirement pay.
Definition provided by Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary.
August 19, 2010, 5:22 pm
