Pension Facts for Military Service members (and Spouses) Before Deployment
by: Alaska Legal Services Corporation
Military servicemembers and spouses facing divorce, dissolution and deployment need the facts on pensions before deploying. Although most servicemembers may know that military pensions are divisible in divorce, confusion about how the pension is going to be divided and when can be complicated.
Although a court can divide a pension as part of the divorce, there is no retirement or pension to pay out until the servicemember retires. In the event the servicemember dies, and the spouse was not named as a surviving spouse under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP), the pension will not go to the former spouse—regardless of what the divorce decree states. A family may be unnecessarily denied benefits the servicemember would have wanted.
Sometimes the choice not to name a surviving spouse is to permit a later spouse access to the pension distribution, even if divorce decree ordered that the divorcing spouse will share in a percentage of the retirement.
This is only one aspect of pension rights to become aware of in order to protect your interests, no matter whether you are the servicemember or spouse. Many benefits end with the date of the decree.
For more detailed questions, please consult your local JAG or speak with an attorney familiar with military divorces.
Last Reviewed On: 07/29/05
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