ABA Family Legal Guide

Law and the Workplace

Leaving a Job

Pension Plans

If a plan participant gets divorced, is the ex-spouse entitled to a share of the pension?

This depends on state law. Most states consider a pension to belong jointly to a participant and the participant's spouse. If a state court issues an order (called a qualified domestic relations order, or QDRO) that part of a participant's vested benefits must be paid to an ex-spouse or child, Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) requires the plan administrator to honor the court order.