Pensions are classified as marital property in Connecticut. Therefore, a judge may award part or all of pension to a spouse as part of a Connecticut divorce.
Judges consider many factors when dividing pensions in a Connecticut divorce. The most important of these are the length of the marriage, the income of the spouses, earning capacity of the spouses, the opportunity for each spouse to acquire future assets and the cause(s) of the breakdown of the marriage. Yes – fault does matter in Connecticut.
Determining the value of retirement accounts like a 401k or IRA is easy – it’s the balance in the account on a particular day. However, valuing pensions can be complex. It is often necessary to retain an actuary or similarly qualified expert to properly value a pension.
Once a divorce court orders that a pension should be divided the court must approve a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO). In essence, a QDRO instructs the administrator of the pension plan how to pay the non-employee spouse. A QDRO allows funds in a retirement account to be withdrawn without penalty and separated into a spouse’s account (usually an IRA).
Since valuing pensions can be tricky, some judges prefer to leave each spouse with a pension they have in their own name. If a judge uses this approach, it may be necessary to offset the value of the pension by giving the other spouse an asset (or share of an asset) of comparable value. Therefore, even if a spouse is not making a direct claim to a share of a pension it is always necessary to have it valued.
I represent clients throughout Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Trumbull, Stratford, Bridgeport, Westport, Weston, New Canaan, Wilton, Norwalk, Darien, Stamford and Greenwich.
Contact me online or call me in my Stamford office at (203) 356-1475 or in my Fairfield office at (203) 259-5251 if you have questions about dividing pensions in a Connecticut divorce.