It’s a plan administrator’s nightmare: John is married to Melissa, and designates her as beneficiary of his qualified joint and survivor annuity (QJSA). John and Melissa then get divorced, and the divorce decree says that John is awarded “as his sole and separate property” all rights
Tag Archives: qualified domestic relations order
District Court: QDRO Cannot Change Existing Beneficiary of Joint and Survivor Annuity
Post-death qualified domestic relations order invalidated
(Posted on January 9, 2006 by Carol V. Calhoun)
The recent case of Sanzo v. NYSA-ILA Pension Trust Fund illustrates the perils of a badly drafted qualified domestic relations order (“QDRO”). Although directly applicable only to QDROs of ERISA-covered plans, the principles underlying it would also apply to governmental and church plans that allow for the recognition of domestic relations orders. Read more