? re: retirement account pay out ...
Find a Conversation
? re: retirement account pay out ...
| Tue, 05-24-2005 - 10:39pm |
My STBX is likely giong to be looking to get 1/2 of my 401B from work. He has no retirment what-so-ever.


If I were you, I'd call the 401b support person. I am sure they have encountered this lots of times. My guess is that you will give him a % of the vested amount. Anything you have put in will be vested, but the match portion may or may not be vested. Also, I believe they can split the account in two (I don't think you would have to take a loan) and put his name on his account, then he would have the option to roll it over to another type of retirement account, but that will be up to him to figure out. You should have a contact name for your retirement accounts, either someone in the accounting/HR department or someone at a third party that helps manage the money.
I am lucky enough not to have to shell out money from my 403b, but you don't have to wait to pay him out. There is some paperwork your lawyer can fill out and then you can split the fund and be done with it. The word or the process starts with a Q but I knew I didn't have to worry about it so I forgot the name. My lawyer did say that it costs about $500 for each account you have to access so make sure you do the payout from one account so you don't have to pay the $500 on each account. I know that probably wasn't that helpful without knowing the name of the process, but your lawyer should know what it is and should be able to make the arrangements quite easily.
I know the answer to this one. Once the judge has decided how much of youe 403B your STBX will get, your attorney or your STBX's attorney will have a QDRO (Qualified Domestic Relations Order) drawn up and signed by the court. This is basically a court order telling the administrator of the plan that the court is ordering them to take a certain amount of your 403B and give it to your STBX. A plan does not charge you for distributing money for a QDRO. You do not pay any taxes for the withdraw - your STBX will be the one who pays the taxes on it (now the judge may end up adjusting how much money your STBX gets to make up for the tax situation). You are also not penalized for an early withdraw for a QDRO.
The judge will consider the total amount of your 403B, not just the amount you have put in. Now if you aren't 100% vested in the plan yet, I'm not sure how that is handled.
Also, in general the starting point is 50/50 for your total combined assets and debts. You don't have to specifically start at 50/50 with your 403B. For example if you are going to sell your house and you have $160,000 worth of equity in the home you could offer him an additional amount of money out of the sale of your home equal to 50% of your 403B if you would prefer not to take money out of your 403B. When I got divorced I didn't want to give my ex anything out of my 401K so I voluntarily took on more of our marital debt which meant I also got to keep more of the marital assets to balance everything out.
Kristi
That last post is right on. When I divorced my ex, I was the one with the 401 plan but it was not very lucrative yet, so ex didn't even try to get it. However, he was getting ready to retire and I had not worked for 20 years of our 27 year marriage. So, I received 50% of his retirement pay. I now get a check every month from the state pension plan, in my name.
Your lawywer should know how to do the QRDO. If not, ask the people that manage your 401 plan. They do encounter this often.
The most important thing to remember is the date of separation. That is the date that you no longer owed him anything. All debt acquired and all moneys made are separate from that date on, for both of you.
Good luck to you!
maria
I put in a call to my HR dept to see what they have to say. & thanks for all the info you guys gave.