QDRO Consultants Co. can prepare all of your QDROs for one low, flat-rate fee of $400 per QDRO. And our QDROs are guaranteed through approval. If your client (or client’s spouse) is covered under a traditional ERISA-governed “defined benefit” or “defined contribution” plan, give us a call. Remember, there are various types of retirement plans permitted under ERISA. Some typical “defined benefit” pension plans include:

• Final Average Pay Plan
• Career Average Plan
• Hourly-Rate Pension Plan
• Cash Balance Plan
• Money Purchase Pension Plan

There are also many varieties of “defined contribution” plans, including:

• 401(k) Plan
• Profit-Sharing Plan
• Retirement Savings Plan
• Thrift Plan
• Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP)
• Savings Investment Plan (SIP)

If you’re not sure what type of plans are offered by the participant’s employer, we can help to tailor your discovery request to insure that you are informed of all of the participant’s plans of coverage.

Watch Our for Multiple Plans of Coverage

Be careful not to word your discovery request to narrowly. Many companies have both a defined benefit pension plan and a defined contribution plan for their employees. Participation in both plans is generally automatic. In some instances, an employee may be covered under two “defined benefit” pension plans at the same time. For example, a “union” employee is typically covered under two DB plans. One of the plans is sponsored by his/her “local” union, while the other is sponsored by the “national” branch of the union. An electrician, for example, is likely covered under his local pension plan as well as the NEBF (National Electrical Benefit Fund).

It’s also common for an employee to terminate a job with a “deferred vested” pension in place. It only takes about 3-5 years on the job to qualify for an eventual pension benefit. If you represent the alternate payee, be sure that the plan participant did not accrue any vested pension benefits with a previous employer. If he/she did participate in a previous employer’s plan, you may need a separate QDRO if any of the deferred vested benefits were accrued during the marriage.

Is the Participant Covered In Any “Nonqualified” Plans?

Many companies also sponsor “nonqualified” retirement programs for certain eligible employees. These programs often supplement the company’s standard retirement plans. Usually, nonqualified plans are available only to highly paid employees. In other words, because of the strict, federally mandated Internal Revenue Code and ERISA pension plan restrictions for highly paid employees, the company may establish a supplemental, nonqualified plan to make up for the reductions imposed under the qualified plans.

However, because nonqualified plans are not subject to ERISA, a QDRO cannot be utilized to divide the benefits accrued by the participant during the marriage. This does not mean, however, that the benefits accrued by the participant are not marital in nature. QDRO Consultants Co. can help you prepare separate “judgment entry” language to secure your client’s share of the participant’s nonqualified retirement benefits.