| Qualifed Domestic Relations Order (QDRO) | View |
|---|---|
| QDRO Procedures for Clergy |  |
| Model QDRO Form for Clergy (Microsoft Word RTF format) |  |
| Divorce and Your Pension | |
| Former Spouse Option Election Form | |
| Consent Form | |
If you divorce after your retirement date and are receiving your pension benefit in the form of a joint and survivor annuity (or an optional form of distribution with your former spouse named as your beneficiary), your former spouse will automatically receive a survivor benefit if you predecease him or her.
Your former spouse may also be entitled to receive a portion of your pension while you are alive. That portion is usually determined by the divorce decree.
To avoid paying taxes on the value of the portion of your pension assigned to your former spouse, and to arrange for the Church Pension Fund to pay him or her directly, you must file a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO). A QDRO is a domestic relations order, approved by the court granting your divorce, assigning to your former spouse the right to receive all or a portion of the benefits payable to you uder the terms of the plan. Before you submit your QDRO to the court, the Church Pension Fund's Office of the General Counsel must approve it.
Download and review the QDRO procedures and memo on this page if you are in or about to enter the divorce process and plan to assign a portion of your pension to your former spouse. We recommend that you use the downloadable Model QDRO form above and have it approved by the fund's Office of the General Counsel before you file it with the court. Please note that we cannot provide information about your pension benefits to a third party unless you execute a consent form. (You may download the consent form in the chart at the top of this page.)
If you have any questions about your options or these documents, email us or call Meleka Demirova at (212) 592-9423, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Eastern).
- Frequently asked questions
- See Divorce Before Retirement in the Active Clergy section of this website if you have not yet retired.
*Our online documents are available for immediate download and viewing using Adobe's FREE Acrobat Reader.