Law...

What is the "Marital Portion" of a Defined Benefit Pension Plan?

When a defined-benefit pension plan is being divided, the court must figure out how much of the plan is "marital" property and how much is "separate" property. (Click here for an explanation of what a defined-benefit pension plan is.)

The following principles apply:

• Pension benefits accrued before the marriage are "separate" property.
• Pension benefits accrued during the marriage are "marital" property.
• Pension benefits accrued after the separation are "separate" property again.

Click here to see how this works out as a calculation when the pension is being valued and divided before retirement.

Click here to see how this works out when the actual pension payments are being divided.

Email this page on to a friend.

Disclaimer: We are not giving legal advice. No warranties. We disclaim all legal liability. More...