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Military Pensions
Unwary attorneys can fall into many traps
when trying to value and secure a member's military pension.
Unlike with QDROs, military members can take affirmative actions
to the detriment of nonmember spouses. These actions include
opting for disability pay in lieu of retired pay or even taking
an early severance (know as a VSI benefit) that would extinguish
the rights of the nonmember spouse to direct payments from
the military. While these alternative forms of payment may
still be deemed a marital asset, the nonmember spouse can
only receive his or her portion through payments made by the
member.
Three problems typically emerge in calculating a present value
for military pensions:
- Obtaining an official estimate of the
accrued pension;
- Determining what adjustment should be
made to that estimate for pre and postretirement COLA considerations
and vesting reductions; and
- Calculating the portion of the pension
earned during the marriage if the participant is a member
of the reserves.
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