Indiana Divorce Law...

Indiana Law - Can Pension Plans Be Divided?

Pension plans of either party may be divided, but only to the extent vested by the date of the dissolution order.

The court uses one of two ways to do this. The two ways are:

• Current value. The court estimates the current value of the pension, using statistical projections. Then it awards the non-employee spouse a portion of that value in cash.
• Actual distribution. The court decides what portion of the pension the non-employee spouse should get. Then, when the pension is actually distributed, the non-employee spouse gets that portion of each payment. The portion may be expressed as a percentage to be calculated when the payouts start. For example, the court may say that a spouse gets 50% of the benefit * (# years married and employed / # years total employment).

However, Workers' Compensation benefits are not a marital asset in Indiana, because they represent future income.

Section 3-1-11.5-2(e)(1),(2), 3-1-11.5-11(b)(4).

Cases:

Leisure (1993) 605 NE2d 755 (workers' compensation benefits are not a marital asset).

Tirmenstein (1989) 539 NE2d 990 (court may assign wife a percentage of pension to be calculated when payouts start; the percent was half of (# years married and employed / # years total employment); wife to receive that percent of payments when they occur).

Waggoner (1988) 531 NE2d 1188 (only include retirement benefits vested as of the order).

Porter (1988) 526 NE2d 219 (valuing plan, letting husband keep it, and ordering husband to pay wife to pay wife cash for this and other assets; plan was vested as of the dissolution order).

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