Or. Admin. Code § 459-050-0200 - Court Orders
The purpose of this rule is to describe the procedures for the administration of a court order and the requirements for a court order to be approved as a Qualified Domestic Relations Order.
(1) Legal requirements. A final court order
or judgment must clearly specify the amount awarded to an alternate payee from
the participant's Deferred Compensation Account, Designated Roth Account, or a
combination of both, and the language must be administrable under ORS Chapter
243.507 and OAR chapter 459, Division 50. Subject to the requirements of the
Internal Revenue Code and Oregon law, including these administrative rules, the
Deferred Compensation Program will segregate an alternate payee's award from a
participant's account once it has determined that the court order meets the
requirements of a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO).
(2) Requirements of a QDRO. The Deferred
Compensation Program may approve a court order as a Qualified Domestic
Relations Order (QDRO), if the following conditions are satisfied:
(a) The Deferred Compensation Program office
has received the QDRO;
(b) The QDRO
includes a specific percentage or dollar amount to be awarded to the alternate
payee from the participant's account; and
(c) The QDRO directs the Deferred
Compensation Program to segregate the participant's account or otherwise assign
the amount of the award from the participant's account, and deposit the award
amount in a separate account in the name of the alternate payee as of a date
specified in the order.
(3) Final court order. A final court order is
required. The Deferred Compensation Program may not divide a participant's
account(s) or make a payment to or on behalf of an alternate payee upon receipt
of a draft court order. The Deferred Compensation Program will divide the
account(s) so long as the other requirements under the Internal Revenue Code
and Oregon law including these rules have been met, upon subsequent receipt of
a certified copy of a final court order that specifies the action(s) required
by the Deferred Compensation Program concerning the alternate payee's award.
(a) All certified copies must be subsequently
reviewed and approved by staff as administrable pursuant to ORS
243.507, and OAR chapter 459,
division 050, before the Deferred Compensation Program shall disburse funds
from an account to which a QDRO applies or an order is currently under review
for determination of QDRO status.
(b) Staff shall provide a written explanation
to the participant and the alternate payee(s) as soon as practicable setting
out the Deferred Compensation Program's determination whether a final court
order can be administered by the Deferred Compensation Program as a
QDRO.
(c) Case-specific award
information shall be provided to attorneys or other representatives of a
participant or an alternate payee only if a participant release or an alternate
payee release has been received by the Deferred Compensation Program, as
described in OAR 459-050-0001.
(4) The Deferred Compensation
Program may, in its discretion, accept or reject any court order, or any
portion thereof. The Deferred Compensation Program shall provide a written
explanation of any rejection as soon as practicable to the participant and the
alternate payee, as well as to their attorneys if a release, as defined in OAR
459-050-0001, has been filed
with the Deferred Compensation Program.
(5) The Deferred Compensation Program may
require a court-approved modification to enable the Deferred Compensation
Program to comply with the order and the parties' intent, and so that the
Deferred Compensation Program may administer the court order according to
applicable Oregon and federal law. For example, if the Deferred Compensation
Program determines that a court order is unclear or silent with regard to the
alternate payee's right to all or a portion of the participant's Deferred
Compensation account, the Deferred Compensation Program may not approve the
court order until a court order is received that clearly states what comprises
the alternate payee's award.
(6)
The court order must not require the Deferred Compensation Program to:
(a) Provide any type or form of distribution
or any option not otherwise provided under the plan; and
(b) Monitor any designations of
beneficiary(s) for compliance with the designation of beneficiary requirements
in the court order.
(7)
An original or certified copy of a final court order must be received by the
Deferred Compensation Program, by mail or delivered in person, before the
Deferred Compensation Program shall commence paying benefits to or on behalf of
an alternate payee. The Deferred Compensation Program in its discretion may
accept a legible photocopy of a final court order, either by mail or delivered
in person, as long as the Deferred Compensation Program can confirm it was
filed with the court. If the Deferred Compensation Program cannot confirm that
the order was filed with the court, the Deferred Compensation Program shall,
within a reasonable time thereafter, notify the party who submitted the order
that an original or certified copy of the final court order is
required.
(8) In the absence of a
final court order, a restraining order, injunction, or stay must be filed with
the Deferred Compensation Program in order to prevent the distribution of any
funds to a participant. Except as may otherwise be allowed by law, a subsequent
court order shall be required in order to allow future distributions.
(9) If a final court order states that
another court order shall follow, a certified copy of the subsequent court
order must be received and approved by staff before any payment shall be made
pursuant to the court order.
(10)
Discontinuation of domestic action. A confirmation signed and notarized by both
the participant and the alternate payee is received by the Deferred
Compensation Program, stating that all divorce or other domestic actions have
been dismissed or abandoned, and that no final decree or court order shall be
forth-coming. If no restraining order, injunction, or stay is on file with the
Deferred Compensation Program, there shall be no further obligation or
responsibility on the Deferred Compensation Program to correspond or
communicate with any person other than the participant and no distribution may
be made to anyone other than the participant or the participant's
beneficiary(s).
(11) Draft court
orders. If the Deferred Compensation Program does not receive a final court
order within 12 months after the date the Deferred Compensation Program
received the draft court order, the Deferred Compensation Program shall
consider that no award was made to an alternate payee from the participant's
Deferred Compensation account. There shall be no further obligation or
responsibility on the part of the Deferred Compensation Program to correspond
or communicate with any person other than the participant and no payment shall
be distributed to anyone other than the participant or the participant's
beneficiary(s).
(12) Review of
draft court orders. Upon request, the Deferred Compensation Program may review
draft court orders that contain language pertaining to the division of a
participant's deferred compensation account. Staff shall provide a written
response as soon as practicable to the submitting party and shall send a copy
of the response to the other persons named in the draft court order if mailing
addresses are provided.
(13) The
Deferred Compensation Program is not responsible for the safekeeping or return
of any court orders, whether draft or final, that are received. The Deferred
Compensation Program staff may not modify, return, or sign and return, any
documents that are received by the Deferred Compensation Program.
(14) Prospective award. If the Deferred
Compensation Program has already generated distribution checks to the
participant for the first of the month following the date the final court order
was received and the court order meets the requirements of this rule, Oregon
law, and the Internal Revenue Code, the Deferred Compensation Program shall:
(a) Pay distribution to the participant,
notwithstanding the court order. The distribution payment shall be deemed by
the Deferred Compensation Program as received by the participant.
(b) Establish an alternate payee's award on a
prospective basis only and may not pay retroactive distributions of any kind.
Payment of future distributions to an alternate payee shall be made as soon as
administratively feasible.
(15) If a final court order is received after
a participant has received a distribution of his or her full account balance,
the Deferred Compensation Program may not invoice the participant for any funds
that may have been awarded to the alternate payee.
Notes
Stat. Auth: ORS 243.470
Stats. Implemented: ORS 243.401 - 243.507
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